UNS:Nanoporous Membranes Based on Uniform Sub-Nanometer Pores

1512164 GongSUNY在BuffuloThis项目旨在创建具有亚纳米（1 nm）大小的孔的多孔膜，这些孔沿沿着方向排列，具有均匀的直径，并以前所未有的高孔密度填充。在这个项目中，一系列环状分子将以更大（多克）的数量制备。已经发现这些环状分子强烈地堆叠成含有长内孔的管状结构。一个主要的目标将是实现相应的管状结构的平行包装成大面积或膜。这样的膜，它包含一个均匀的直径和前所未有的高孔密度的亚纳米孔，可能会提供下一代的纳米多孔材料。这些膜具有亚纳米级尺寸的极其密集的孔，然后将用于解决分离科学中的主要挑战：将水分子与大多数其他离子分离。如果成功，这项研究可能为海水淡化和污水净化提供新技术，从而产生重大的社会，经济和环境影响。这项工作的总体目标是制造大面积的膜通过垂面排列的纳米管组件，并实现实际有用的分离的分子和离子使用这样的膜。核心假设是刚性大环的纳米管组装体倾向于平行堆积，并且可以排列成块状材料。这项研究的基本原理是，一旦阐明了负责管状组件对齐的因素，通过合成改性刚性大环化合物可以精确控制纳米孔的结构，这将揭示填充在体相中的亚纳米孔的新型质量传输特性。PI提议通过追求三个具体目标来测试中心假设：（1）设计、合成和组装一类具有芳香族四脲骨架和~ 5 Å内腔的大环结构单元;（2）制造由亲水性亚纳米孔的垂直排列阵列组成的膜;（3）开始探索使用所制造的膜从水溶液中截留大多数离子。该团队建议通过开发有机纳米孔及其高级组件科学的讲座材料和演示来建立一个重点突出和可持续的外展计划，PI和他的研究生将使用该材料和演示来参与布法罗地区现有的外展计划，该计划跨越当地学区的幼儿园到12年级。

1512164GongSUNY at BuffuloThis project aims to create porous membranes having sub-nanometer ( 1 nm) sized pores that are aligned along the same direction, have a uniform diameter, and pack in unprecedentedly high pore densities. In this project, one series of ring-like molecules will be prepared in larger (multi-gram) quantities. These cyclic molecules have been found to strongly stack into tube-like structures containing long inner pores. A major objective will be to realize the parallel packing of the corresponding tube-like structures into large-area or membranes. Such a membrane, which contains sub-nanometer pores of a uniform diameters and unprecedentedly high pore density, may offer the next-generation nanoporous materials. These membranes, with their extremely densely packed pores of sub-nanomer sizes, will then be employed to address to a major challenges in separation science: the separation of water molecules from most other ions. If successful, this research may provide a new technology for the desalination of sea water and the purification of polluted water, resulting in major social, economical, and environmental impacts. The overall goal of this work is to fabricate large-area membranes by homeotropically aligning nanotubular assemblies, and to realize practically useful separation of molecules and ions using such membranes. The central hypothesis is that nantoubular assemblies of rigid macrocycles tend to pack parallel and can be aligned into bulk materials. The rationale for this research is that, once the factors responsible for the alignment of tubular assemblies are elucidated, precise control of the structure of nanopores - which is made possible by synthetically modifying rigid macrocycles will enable the revelation of novel mass-transporting properties of sub-nm pores packed in the bulk phase. The PI proposes to test the central hypothesis by pursuing three specific aims: (1) To design, synthesize and assemble one class of macrocyclic building blocks having an aromatic, tetraurea backbone and an inner cavity of ~5Å across; (2) to fabricate membranes consisting of homeotropically aligned arrays of hydrophilic sub-nm pores; (3) to start to explore the rejection of most ions from aqueous solution using the fabricated membranes. The team proposes to build a focused and sustainable outreach program by developing lecture materials and demonstrations on the science of organic nanopores and their higher assemblies, which will be used by the PI and his graduate students to participate in an existing outreach program in the Buffalo area that spans grades kindergarten through the 12th in local school districts.