Porous Liquids (PLs): Understanding, scope and applications

具有有用特性的新材料的发明对于应对全球挑战至关重要，例如清洁发电和有效利用能源。最近由该项目的研究人员联合报道的多孔液体（PLs）的发明[Nature 2015，527，216]是对未来技术具有广泛影响的重要进展。PL是其中具有永久孔（微孔）的液体，并且因此是两种众所周知且广泛使用的材料类别（具体地，微孔固体和液体溶剂）的混合物。这些类别的材料中的每一种都为全球许多当前行业提供了基础。PL将选择性吸收大量气体（如微孔固体）的能力与流动能力（如液体）结合在一起。随着发展，它们有望在未来几年成为一系列新技术的基础。本提案的愿景是，通过更深入的基本理解和应用驱动的发展，PL最终将为清洁能源领域的新技术提供基础，化学分离和作为“超级溶剂”-这是多孔固体或传统液体溶剂单独使用无法实现的进步。该项目被设计为实现这一目标的关键一步。首先，我们将通过研究这些材料如何在一系列条件下吸收，运输和释放各种工业重要气体来更好地了解这些材料。我们还将合成具有一系列不同组成和结构的新型PL，以更好地了解这类新材料的全部范围，以及结构和组成最终如何用于设计特定应用的材料。计算建模将用于提供这些PL的精确分子尺度模型，这将有助于理解其观察到的特性。基于这些发现，我们将开始探索PL未来可能的应用，例如更节能的工业气体分离过程，更安全的化学过程和更高效的电池技术。总的来说，该项目将是英国从这类新材料的发明中实现技术和商业利益的关键一步。该项目是多学科的，涉及材料合成，计算建模和化学工程方面的专家，并将为这一令人兴奋的新领域的三位早期职业科学家提供一流的培训。

The invention of new materials with useful properties is essential to meet global challenges, such as generating energy cleanly and using it efficiently. The invention of Porous Liquids (PLs), recently reported jointly by the investigators in this project [Nature 2015, 527, 216], is an important advance with broad implications for future technologies. PLs are liquids which have permanent holes (micropores) within them, and as such are hybrids of two well-known and widely-used classes of material, specifically microporous solids and liquid solvents. Each of these classes of material provide the basis for many current industries globally. PLs bring together the ability to selectively absorb large amounts of gas (as with microporous solids) with the ability to flow (as with liquids). With development, they are expected to become the basis of a range of new technologies in the coming years.The vision of this proposal is that through greater basic understanding and application-driven development, PLs will ultimately provide the basis for new technologies in the areas of clean energy, chemical separations and as 'super solvents' - advances that would not be possible with porous solids or conventional liquid solvents alone.This project has been designed as a critical step toward reaching this goal. Initially, we will obtain better basic understanding of these material by studying how they absorb, transport and release various industrially important gases, under a range of conditions. We will also synthesise new types of PLs with a range of different compositions and structures to understand better the full scope of this new class of materials, and how the structure and composition may ultimately be used to design the materials for a specific application. Computational modelling will be used to provide accurate molecular-scale models of these PLs which will help in understanding their observed properties. Based upon these findings we will begin to explore possible future applications for PLs, such as in more energy-efficient industrial gas separation processes, safer chemical processes and more efficient battery technology. Overall the project will be a key step in realizing technical and commercial benefits to the UK from the invention of this new class of materials. The project is multidisciplinary, involving experts in materials synthesis, computational modelling and chemical engineering and will provide a first rate training for three early-career scientists in this exciting new field.