INFEWS N/P/H2O:EPRI:GOALI: A Novel Janus Membrane with Asymmetric Wetting Properties for Simultaneous Anti-wetting and Anti-fouling Membrane Distillation

膜蒸馏（MD）是一种新兴的基于膜的热脱盐技术，可以利用低温热量脱盐高盐水。目前的MD膜通常由聚合物材料制成，容易被表面活性剂等化合物润湿，并被许多有机化合物污染。这些缺点通常限制了MD工艺对不含这些成分的相对清洁的盐水进行脱盐。克服这些材料特性上的限制，将允许MD工艺与更广泛的给水和废水一起使用，这对现有技术来说是一个挑战。PIs计划为MD开发一种既耐湿又耐污的新型膜，作为克服材料限制的解决方案，并提高MD作为海水淡化技术的能力。这种新型膜将通过整合两层具有不同润湿特性的功能层来制造，以同时抵抗污垢和润湿。pi还将整合旨在培养K-12学生对STEM兴趣的教育活动。他们还将为K-12的推广开发教育工具包和模块，并接待有才华的高中生进行与该项目相关的研究。该项目的总体目标是开发一种新型Janus膜，具有抗湿性和污垢性，可用于稳健和通用的MD应用。要实现这一目标，具体抓好以下三项工作。首先，Janus膜将通过整合空气中的全疏基板和水下超亲水性皮肤层来制造。第二个主要任务是表征制备的Janus膜的形态和润湿特性以及标准MD性能。最后，将用合成废水和真实废水测试Janus膜的性能，以评估它们在两亲性和疏水性污染物存在下的性能。为了实际应用，真正的废水将由工业合作伙伴提供，该合作伙伴具有处理制药和石化行业专用废水的专业知识。除了材料开发、表征和性能测试之外，还将分别使用电阻抗谱和多尺度力谱进行润湿和污垢的基础研究。pi将开发新型材料，以解决相关的环境问题。本研究开发的制备技术将提高我们具有多种功能特性的工程结构膜的能力。对污垢和润湿的基础研究也将对提高其他膜基工艺的性能产生潜在的影响。通过这个项目，pi将把研究和教育结合起来，将项目的结果纳入研究生和本科生的课程材料中，促进本科生和高中生参与实验室研究，并为K-12推广开发教育工具包和模块。具体来说，pi将把表面润湿作为K-12推广的主题，并开发结合STEM和艺术的动手实验套件，以培养K-12学生的好奇心和创造力。

PI Name: Shihong LinProposal Number: 1705048 Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging membrane-based thermal desalination technology that can utilize low-temperature heat to desalinate hypersaline water. Current MD membranes are typically made of polymeric materials that are readily wet by compounds such as surfactants and fouled by many organic compounds. These drawbacks typically limit MD processes to desalinating relatively clean saline water free of these constituents. Overcoming these limitations in material properties will permit MD processes to be used with a much broader range of feed water and wastewater that are challenging for existing technologies. The PIs plan to develop a novel membrane with resistance to both wetting and fouling for MD as a solution to overcome the materials limitations and enhance the capability of MD as a desalination technology. The novel membranes will be fabricated by integrating two functional layers with distinct wetting properties to impart the simultaneous resistance to fouling and wetting. The PIs will also integrate educational activities aimed at fostering the interests of K-12 students in STEM. They will also develop educational kits and modules for K-12 outreach and host talented high school students to conduct research related to this project. The overarching goal of this project is to develop a novel Janus membrane with resistance to both wetting and fouling for robust and versatile MD applications. This goal will be achieved by conducting the three following specific tasks. First, Janus membranes will be fabricated by integrating an in-air omniphobic substrate and an underwater superhydrophilic skin layer. The second major task involves characterizing the morphological and wetting properties as well as the standard MD performance of the fabricated Janus membranes. Lastly, the performance of the Janus membranes will be tested with synthetic and real wastewater to evaluate them in the presence of amphiphilic and hydrophobic contaminants. For practical relevance, the real wastewater will be provided by the industrial partner, which has expertise in treating specialized wastewater from pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries. In addition to material development, characterization, and performance testing, fundamental studies of wetting and fouling will also be conducted using electro-impedance spectroscopy and multi-scale force spectroscopy, respectively. The PIs will develop novel materials as a solution to relevant environmental problems. The fabrication techniques developed in this study will enhance our capacity of engineering structured membranes with multiple functional properties. The fundamental studies on fouling and wetting will potentially have an impact on enhancing the performance of other membrane-based processes as well. Through this project, the PIs will integrate the research and education by incorporating the results from the project into the course materials at both graduate and undergraduate level, promoting the participation of undergraduate students and high school students in laboratory research, and developing educational kits and modules for K-12 outreach. Specifically, the PIs will focus on surface wetting as the thematic topic for K-12 outreach and develop hands-on experimental kits integrating STEM and art that foster the curiosity and creativity of the K-12 students.