Seminar

Cen Lin of the Regen Group

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - 12:00am

Graduate student Cen Lin will be presenting

"Hyperthin Polymeric Membranes for Gas Separation"

 on March 28, 2017 at 4:10 PM in Neville Hall, Room 3. 

 

Abstract:

The use of polymer membranes for gas separations is receiving growing interest due to the low operating energy and maintenance costs that are required.1  In this lecture, I will present three strategies that we have been exploring in an effort to create hyperthin (<100 nm) membranes from polyelectrolytes (i.e., polyelectrolyte multilayers, PEMs), which are fabricated via the layer-by-layer deposition method.2-3 Our primary goal has been to prepare membranes as thin as possible that can maximize the flux of gaseous permeants and also their permeation selectivity. In brief, these strategies have focused on increasing membrane permeability by increasing the free volume of the membrane via splaying,4 and by polymer tacticity.5  Efforts that have been aimed at enhancing permeation selectivity have focused on the incorporation of facilitated transport pathways.   References:   (1) Cowan, M. G.; Gin, D. L.; Noble, R. D., Poly(ionic liquid)/Ionic Liquid Ion-Gels with High “Free” Ionic Liquid Content: Platform Membrane Materials for CO2/Light Gas Separations. Acc. Chem. Res. 2016, 49 (4), 724-732.   (2) Decher, G.; Hong, J.-D., Buildup of ultrathin multilayer films by a self-assembly process, 1 consecutive adsorption of anionic and cationic bipolar amphiphiles on charged surfaces. Makromolekulare Chemie. Macromolecular Symposia 1991, 46 (1), 321-327.   (3) Lin, C.; Chen, Q.; Yi, S.; Wang, M.; Regen, S. L., Polyelectrolyte Multilayers on PTMSP as Asymmetric Membranes for Gas Separations: Langmuir–Blodgett versus Self-Assembly Methods of Anchoring. Langmuir 2014, 30 (3), 687-691.   (4) Yi, S.; Lin, C.; Regen, S. L., Splaying hyperthin polyelectrolyte multilayers to increase their gas permeability. Chem. Commun. 2015, 51 (8), 1439-1441.   (5) Lin, C.; Yi, S.; Regen, S. L., Consequences of Tacticity on the Growth and Permeability of Hyperthin Polyelectrolyte Multilayers. Langmuir 2016, 32 (2), 375-379.