SBIR Phase I: Polymer Mesocomposites: Novel Materials for Compaction-Resistant, High-Flux Water Treatment Membranes

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目正在开发用于可持续饮用水净化和水回用的新型高通量、耐压实和耐用的聚合物介孔复合膜。这种新型膜表现出1)优异的抗内部损伤和孔紧实性，2)在保持分离选择性的同时提高渗透性，3)耐化学降解和机械磨损，在压力下几乎不会有颗粒脱落。我们创新的关键是使用介孔二氧化硅颗粒(MPS)作为聚合物增强添加剂和表面极性改性剂。MPS添加剂是通过表面活性剂模板超分子组装工艺制备的，具有精确定制的介观范围2至50 nm及以上的孔尺寸。由于MSP孔大于聚合物链的范德华直径，聚合物可以部分穿透颗粒介孔并结合到膜孔上。由此产生的增强，加上伴随的膜致密化，在水处理性能方面提供了上述进步。为了说明这项创新的技术潜力，5wt%的MSP-聚砜膜的渗透率提高了两倍，选择性也随之提高，膜的紧实度在40psi时降低了10倍。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是它可能缓解世界对清洁饮用水日益增长的需求。缺乏清洁水造成的问题很多，包括每年有180万人死于腹泻疾病，其中大多数是可以通过获得安全水来预防的。将非饮用水转化为饮用水的技术有很多。其中，膜过滤由于能够有效去除几乎所有大于0.2微米的颗粒而被广泛应用于工业应用中。然而，为了满足更广泛的清洁水需求，仍然需要新的基于材料的膜策略，在不牺牲选择性的情况下实现延长寿命和高通量分离。这一拟议的SBIR项目将证明，通过发明一种新型的硅酸盐中间相增强的介孔膜复合材料，可以克服这些挑战。基于这项技术的产品将销往全球净水市场，主要客户是该领域的一些世界领先公司。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is developing novel high flux, compaction-resistant and durable polymer mesocomposite membranes for sustainable drinking water purification and water reuse. The new membranes exhibit 1) superior resistance to internal damage and pore compaction, 2) increased permeability with retention of separation selectivity, and 3) resistance to chemical degradation and mechanical wear with little or no shedding of particles under pressure. The key to our innovation is the use of mesoporous silica particle (MPS) as polymer reinforcing additives and surface polarity modifiers. The MPS additives, which are prepared through surfactant-templated supramolecular assembly processes, have precisely tailored pore sizes in the mesometric range 2 to 50 nm and beyond. Because the MSP pores are larger than the van der Waals diameter of the polymer chains, the polymer can partially penetrate the particle mesopores and bind to membrane pores. The resulting reinforcement, together with the accompanying densification of the membrane, affords the aforementioned advances in water processing performance. To illustrate the technological potential of the innovation, a 5 wt % MSP - polysulfone membrane exhibits a two-fold increase in permeability, a concomitant improvement in rejection selectivity, and a ten-fold decrease in membrane compaction at 40 psiThe broader impact/commercial potential of this project is its potential to ease the world's growing needs for clean, potable water. The problems caused by a lack of clean water are legion and include 1.8 million annual deaths from diarrheal diseases, most of which are preventable with access to safe water. A number of techniques are used for transforming non-potable water into potable water. Of these, membrane filtration is widely used in industrial applications due to its ability to efficiently remove virtually all particles larger than 0.2 um. However, for addressing the broader need for clean water, there remains a need for new materials-based strategies for membranes which achieve extended longevity and high flux separations without sacrificing selectivity. This proposed SBIR project will demonstrate that the challenges can be overcome through the invention of a new class of mesoporous membrane composites reinforced with silicate mesophases. Products based on this technology will be sold into the global water purification market, with key customers being some of the world's leading companies in this field.