Study and Development of a New Type of Water Nanofiltration Membrane with an Ordered, Sub-one-nanometer Size Pore System

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。[853554]本研究将为研究溶质在亚1纳米尺度下（即单个小分子领域）通过均匀孔隙的输运和排斥行为提供新的基本见解。目前，很少知道或实验验证的液体分离在这个尺寸制度。这一领域的研究将能够通过实验验证一些众所周知的、基于尺寸的NF排斥模型是否确实适用于这个尺寸尺度。提出的研究还将导致制造可聚合LLC组件薄膜（特别是Q相）的新见解和新方法。制造连续薄膜的能力对于薄膜应用非常重要，因为高表面积和最小厚度和/或材料量对于制造的性能和经济性非常重要。目前，制作LLC组件薄膜的方法很少，而且没有一种方法适合于更奇特的q型相。最后，该项目将确定是否有可能通过使用不同的LLC单体同系物或现有的不同QI单体来调整LLC膜在1纳米以下的孔径。在多孔聚合物的分离应用中，这种控制是前所未有的，并且可能导致设计新的水NF材料，用于更精细的分子水平分离。这项研究可能会导致新型水纳滤膜（和海水淡化）的发展，这种膜通过可预测的亚1纳米尺度的孔径排斥来运行。与目前的多孔纳滤膜相比，这种材料将提供更好的分离选择性和控制。它甚至可能为海水淡化提供一种可行的替代膜技术，以取代传统的反渗透膜（通过溶液扩散型机制运行）。鉴于当前和未来全球对清洁水的需求，一种新型的可脱盐水纳滤膜将在环境和土木工程领域产生广泛的影响。本研究将培养对膜工程和纳米科学感兴趣的学生，而膜工程和纳米科学的界面是未来膜发展的重要领域之一。该研究将为化学工程专业的研究生提供一个新的训练基地（使用独特的膜纳米材料）来研究纳米结构对膜中液体运输的影响。鉴于LLC膜在新型水分离中的潜力，这项工作也应该为吸引REU， RET和本科研究人员的兴趣提供一个很好的平台。作为该提案的推广和教育部分的一部分，我们将继续与科罗拉多大学博尔德分校已建立的推广项目合作，如LC MRC REU和RET项目、科罗拉多大学材料科学项目和科罗拉多大学奇才展，以帮助教育本科生、当地K-12学校和当地社区，分别在应用纳米科学的新兴领域

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).0853554GinThe proposed research will provide new fundamental insights into the transport and rejection behavior of solutes through uniform pores on the sub-1-nm size regime (i.e., the realm of individual small molecules). Currently, very little is known or experimentally verifiable for liquid separations on this size regime. Research in this area will be able to experimentally verify whether some well-known, size-based NF rejection models are indeed applicable on this size scale. The proposed research will also lead to new insights and new methods for fabricating thin films of polymerizable LLC assemblies (in particular, the Q phases). The ability to fabricate continuous thin films is extremely important for membrane applications where high surface area and a minimum thickness and/or amount of material are important for performance and economy of manufacture. Currently, there are very few methods for making thin films of LLC assemblies, and none are suitable for the more exotic Q-type phases. Finally, the proposed project will determine whether it is possible to tune LLC membrane pore size on the sub-1-nm scale via the use of different LLC monomer homologues or a different QI monomer already in hand. Such control in porous polymers for separation applications is unprecedented, and could lead to the design of new water NF materials for even finer molecular-level separations.The proposed research may lead to the development of a new type of water NF (and desalination) membrane that operates by predictable pore size-exclusion on the sub-1-nm scale. Such a material would provide improved separation selectivity and control compared to current porous NF membranes. It may even provide a viable alternative membrane technology to classical RO membranes (which operate via solution-diffusion-type mechanism) for water desalination. Given the current and anticipated demand for clean water globally, a new type of water NF membrane capable of desalination would have broad impact in environmental and civil engineering. The proposed research will provide training for students interested in membrane engineering and nanoscience, the interface of which is one of the most important areas for future membrane development. The research will provide a novel training ground (with unique membrane nanomaterials) for graduate students in Chemical Engineering to examine the effect of nanostructure on liquid transport in membranes. Given the potential of the LLC membranes for new types of aqueous separations, this work should also make a good platform for attracting interest from outside REU, RET, and undergraduate researchers. As part of the outreach and educational component of this proposal, we will continue to work with established outreach programs at CU Boulder, such as the LC MRC REU and RET programs, the Materials Science from CU program, and the CU Wizards Show, in order to help educate undergraduates, local K-12 schools, and the local community, respectively, on the emerging field of applied nanoscience