Collaborative Research: A Polymer Synthesis/Membrane Characterization Program on Fouling Resistant Membranes for Water Purification

合作研究：用于水净化的抗污膜聚合物合成/膜表征项目为解决用于水净化的聚合物膜领域的关键问题，提出了一项基础研究和教育的合作实验项目。聚合物膜技术，如超滤（UF）、纳滤（NF）和反渗透（RO），在水净化技术中占据主导地位，很大程度上是由于其相对于传统技术（如蒸馏）的能效。当市售的超滤膜、纳滤膜和反渗透膜暴露于盐、乳化油滴和其他颗粒物质的混合物中时，由于有机污染物对膜的污染，渗透通量基本上不可逆地减少，因此它们的有效使用寿命会灾难性地减少。PI最近启动了初步实验，以评估Emrick组制备的两亲接枝共聚物涂覆的商用PVDF UF膜的污染性能（Freeman组）。这些接枝共聚物由聚烯烃骨架和聚乙二醇（PEG）接枝组成，前者提供了膜应用所需的机械完整性，后者提供了高水通量所需的亲水性。聚烯烃骨架和PEG接枝之间的连接是通过醚键形成的，从而在这些水基应用中提供聚合物的长期水解稳定性。此外，接枝共聚物的设计允许将功能集成到聚合物中进行交联化学，这将用于在各种膜上提供坚固的涂层，也可以将聚合物涂层交联到底层的膜支撑中。对这些聚乙二醇化接枝共聚物作为商业膜上的抗污涂层的早期评估是有希望的，但也对PI提出了挑战，这被认为非常值得博士研究和教育。这项研究是在一个合作项目中提出的，以最有效地推进科学，因为工程和合成化学方面都发挥着至关重要的作用，最好以合作的方式进行。随着全球人口和社会发展的增加，加上淡水供应的不断减少，水净化膜技术的进步所产生的更广泛的影响是不容小觑的，这使得水成为全球关注的焦点。通过合作研究，可以加速膜技术的创新进步，PI与膜制造商建立了联系，以及以工业为基础的学术研究支持机制，将导致发现快速整合到开发和商业化。参与研究的学生的教育从合作方面获得了巨大的收益。阿默斯特和奥斯汀之间定期交换学生将促进这种合作。此外，根据pi先前的活动，净水膜的研究将通过本科生研究经验（REU）和教师研究经验（RET）计划渗透到他们对本科生和高中教师的指导中。

Collaborative Research: A Polymer Synthesis/Membrane Characterization Program on Fouling Resistant Membranes for Water PurificationA collaborative experimental program in fundamental research and education is proposed to address critically important problems in the area of polymer membranes for water purification. Polymer membrane technology, such as ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) is becoming dominant in water purification technology, due largely to its energy efficiency relative to conventional technologies such as distillation. When commercially available UF, NF and RO membranes are exposed to mixtures of salt, emulsified oil droplets, and other particulate matter, their lifetime of effective use decreases catastrophically due to a largely irreversible reduction in permeate flux as a result of membrane fouling by the organic contaminants. The PI recently initiated preliminary experiments to evaluate the fouling performance (in Freeman group) of commercial PVDF UF membranes coated with amphiphilic graft copolymers prepared in Emrick group. These graft copolymers are composed of polyolefin backbones, which provide mechanical integrity needed in membrane applications, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) grafts, to provide the hydrophilicity needed to enable high water flux. The connectivity between the polyolefin backbone and PEG grafts is made with ether bonds, so as to provide long-term hydrolytic stability of the polymer in theseaqueous-based applications. Moreover, the graft copolymer design allows integration offunctionality into the polymer for cross-linking chemistry that will be used to give robustcoatings on a variety of membranes, and also to cross-link the polymer coating into theunderlying membrane support. Early evaluations of these PEGylated graft copolymers asfouling-resistant coatings on commercial membranes are promising and also present challenges to the PI that are deemed exceptionally worthy of PhD research and education. The research is proposed in a collaborative program to most effectively advance the science, as the engineering and synthetic chemistry aspects both play critically important roles and are best conducted in a collaborative fashion.The broader impact of advances in water purification membrane technology cannot be overstated, as the increase in global population and societal development, combined with the continuously shrinking fresh water supply, place water at the forefront of global concern. Innovative advances in membrane technology can be accelerated through collaborative research, and the PI established ties with membrane manufacturers, as well as industrial-based support mechanisms for academic research, will lead to rapid integration of discoveries towards development and commercialization. The education of the students involved in the research stands to gain tremendously from the collaborative aspect. Regular exchange of students between Amherst and Austin will facilitate this collaboration. Moreover, in accord with the prior activities of the PIs, research on water purification membranes will permeate into their mentoring of undergraduates and high school teachers through the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs.