SusChEM: Block Polymers for Advanced Membrane Materials

缺乏可获得的清洁水是一个影响人类健康、农业、能源生产和整个环境的全球性问题。提供适当的卫生设施、安全饮用水和食物是社会面临的重大挑战之一。开发低能耗、以材料为基础的技术，促进水处理和再利用，是克服这些挑战的核心。为了在世界范围内提供清洁的水，需要改进水净化技术，其中材料科学和化学将发挥至关重要的作用。该研究项目集中于设计、发现和开发用于先进分离应用的新型聚合物材料。具体来说，该项目的目标包括合成、形态和结构性质的基本认识，新型纳米结构聚合物材料用于高效水净化。受这一基础聚合物材料研究影响的主要技术是水超滤和海水淡化；然而，其他基于膜的技术将受益于所获得的见解。大学将积极寻求与工业界的伙伴关系，广泛培训研究生、本科生和博士后研究人员也将是这些努力的重要成果。此外，将强调继续发展旨在激发学龄儿童对科学和工程的热情的外展计划。技术概述：在合成、自组装和实现嵌段聚合物基材料在膜中的应用方面取得了长足的进步。在这个研究项目中，将寻求重要的和创新的新合成方法来阻滞聚合物材料的膜，所得到的材料的完整和详细的特性将使用大量的现代技术进行，并将完成从这些材料衍生的新膜的实施和测试。两个独立但相互关联的项目的目标材料具有巨大的潜力，可以影响广泛的技术领域。其中一个主要的努力将是通过聚合诱导相分离来定制功能嵌段聚合物的方法，作为用于超滤、水修复和金属隔离的强大纳米结构材料的前体。另一个主要工作集中在设计、合成、开发和应用新型高性能压电透析电荷镶嵌膜，该膜由嵌段聚合物前体制成，其中包含由机械坚固的嵌段分隔的独立阴离子和阳离子纳米结构域。这两项努力将产生与嵌段聚合物合成和自组装相关的基础知识，并为用于先进水净化技术的聚合物的发展奠定基础。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe lack of accessible clean water is a global problem affecting human health, agriculture, energy production, and the environment at large. Providing adequate sanitation, safe drinking water, and food are among society's grand challenges. The development of low-energy, materials-based technologies that facilitate water treatment and reuse is central to overcoming those challenges. Improvements in water purification technologies, for which materials science and chemistry will play a vital role, are needed to provide clean water around the world. This SusChEM research project is centered on the design, discovery, and development of new polymeric materials for advanced separation applications. Specifically, the project aims include the synthesis, morphology, and structure-property fundamental understanding of new, nanostructured polymeric materials for high-efficiency water purification. The principal technologies that will be impacted by this fundamental polymer-materials research are water ultrafiltration and desalination; however other membrane-based technologies will benefit from the insights gained. Partnerships with industry will be actively pursued, and broad training of a diverse cohort of graduate, undergraduate and postdoctoral researchers will also be an important product of the efforts. Moreover, the continued development of an outreach program aimed at enthusing school age kids about science and engineering will be emphasized.TECHNICAL SUMMARYStrides in the synthesis, self-assembly, and implementation of block polymer-based materials in membrane applications have been accomplished. In this research project, significant and innovative new synthetic approaches to block polymer materials for membranes will be pursued, the complete and detailed characterization of the resultant materials will be undertaken using a bevy of modern techniques, and the implementation and testing of new membranes derived from these materials will be accomplished. The target materials for two separate but interrelated projects have tremendous potential to impact a broad swath of technologies. One of the main efforts will be on tailored approaches to functional block polymers via polymerization-induced phase separation as precursors to robust nanostructured materials for ultrafiltration, water remediation, and metal sequestration. The other main effort is focused on the design, synthesis, development, and application of new high-performance charge mosaic membranes for piezodialysis from block polymer precursors containing independent anionic and cationic nanodomains separated by a mechanically robust block. Both of these efforts will result in fundamental and basic knowledge associated with block polymer synthesis and self-assembly and build a foundation for the development of polymers for advanced water purification technologies.