The Polymer Physics of Separation Membranes (A DPOLY Short Course at the 2023 American Physical Society March Meeting)

在生产化学品、燃料、药品、净化水等许多工业过程中都需要化学分离。在聚合物科学进步的推动下，膜基分离在海水淡化和从空气中富集氮等应用中展示了卓越的性能和能源效率。聚合物膜技术需要不断创新，以扩大膜基分离作为传统方法的节能替代方案的作用。在2023年美国物理学会（APS） 3月会议上举行的短期课程“分离膜的聚合物物理学”将培养一批早期研究人员来设计下一代聚合物膜。这门短期课程将教授用于气体和水分离的膜设计的基本方面，包括已建立的和新出现的用途，多尺度设计和表征中的聚合物物理，以及用于大规模制造聚合物膜的配方和非平衡处理方法。聚合研究将通过汇集来自基础聚合物物理和膜设计和加工学科的研究人员来促进。为了支持这一教育机会，该奖项将为20名研究生、博士后研究人员和早期职业专业人员提供资金，以抵消他们的旅行和注册费用。课程组织者承诺，将把招生工作的重点放在促进多样性和研究生的参与上。“分离膜的聚合物物理”短期课程将于2023年3月4日至5日在内华达州拉斯维加斯举行的2023 APS 3月会议上举行。该课程将通过APS聚合物物理学部（DPOLY）授课。会议的目标是将不同学科的研究人员聚集在一起，包括聚合物物理、聚合物化学、材料科学和膜技术，以促进有关聚合物分离膜的设计、表征和加工的讨论。在超过一天半的时间里，领域领先的专家将指导参与者进行辅导课和实践学习活动，强调与分离膜的聚合物物理相关的多个时间和长度尺度的桥梁的重要性。课程涵盖的主题包括水净化和气体分离用聚合物膜的概述，工业规模的膜制造和非平衡形成机制，聚合物材料及其结构表征，通过界面表征和计算在聚合物中溶质分配，气液分离聚合物中的溶质动力学，以及通过分离膜的场驱动输运。这个短期课程是DPOLY提供的第一个此类课程。它的独特之处在于它专注于将基础聚合物物理学的概念与应用膜设计和加工方法相结合。旅行和注册费补贴的奖励预计将吸引不同的研究人员参加他们可能无法参加的短期课程。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Chemical separations are required in many industrial processes for producing chemicals, fuels, and pharmaceuticals, purifying water, and more. Driven by advances in polymer science, membrane-based separations have demonstrated exemplary performance and energy efficiency in applications such as seawater desalination and the enrichment of nitrogen from air. Continued innovation in polymer membrane technology is needed to expand the role of membrane-based separations as an energy-efficient alternative to conventional approaches. A short course, “The Polymer Physics of Separation Membranes,” held at the 2023 American Physical Society (APS) March Meeting, will prepare a cohort of early-stage researchers to design next-generation polymer membranes. The short course will teach foundational aspects of membrane design for gas and water separations, including established and emerging uses, polymer physics in multiscale design and characterization, and formulation and non-equilibrium processing methods used to manufacture polymer membranes at scale. Convergence research will be fostered by bringing together researchers from the fundamental polymer physics and membrane design and processing disciplines. In support of this educational opportunity, this award will provide 20 graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career professionals with funds to offset their travel and registration expenses. The course organizers have committed to focus recruiting efforts on promoting diversity and graduate student participation. "The Polymer Physics of Separation Membranes" short course will be held on March 4th and 5th, 2023, at the 2023 APS March Meeting in Las Vegas, NV. The course will be delivered through the APS Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY). The goal is to bring together researchers across various disciplines, including polymer physics, polymer chemistry, materials science, and membrane technology, to facilitate discussions that address the design, characterization, and processing of polymer separation membranes. Over one and a half days, field-leading experts will guide participants in tutorial sessions and hands-on learning activities emphasizing the importance of bridging the multiple time and length scales associated with the polymer physics of separation membranes. The topics covered in the course include an overview of polymer membranes for water purification and gas separations, membrane fabrication at the industrial scale and non-equilibrium formation mechanisms, polymer materials and their structural characterization, solute partitioning in polymers via interfacial characterization and computation, solute dynamics in gas and liquid separation polymers, and field-driven transport through separation membranes. This short course is the first of its kind offered through DPOLY. It is unique in its focus on merging concepts from fundamental polymer physics with applied membrane design and processing approaches. The award of travel and registration fee subsidies is expected to attract diverse researchers to attend a short course they may not otherwise be able to attend.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.