Tailored Molecular Transport In Low-Dimensional Hybrid Materials From 1D Nanocrystals And 2D Nanosheets

一维纳米晶体和二维纳米片低维混合材料中的定制分子传输

• 批准号: 2202907
• 负责人: Vladimir Tsukruk
• 金额: $ 39万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2202907&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Tailored; Molecular; Transport; Low; Dimensional

Many important applications in fine chemistry, pharmaceutical research, and other sophisticated purification processes rely on separation processes that effectively separate molecules from solutions and suspension. Current amorphous polymer- or paper-based membranes have random morphologies, poorly controlled porosities, and lack mechanical strength. Balancing the membrane’s permeance and selectivity performance using these materials is also challenging. These combined factors limit the utility of amorphous polymer- and paper-based membranes for fast and effective molecular separations in high-pressure applications. The random morphology of porous polymeric materials with varied pore sizes, shapes, and surface chemistries makes it difficult to rationally design molecular transport properties. Therefore, this project will examine the molecular transport phenomena and materials properties of membranes with long-range ordered low-dimensional structural elements to advance fundamental knowledge and develop new membranes using fibrous and two-dimensional materials. Additionally, this research project will provide graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds with interdisciplinary research training opportunities, helping prepare them for careers in industry. Undergraduate students at Georgia Tech will also benefit from the investigator’s soft nanomaterials curriculum development efforts.The ultimate research goal of this project is to understand the principles of directional, spatial, and scale-dependent molecular transport in highly organized one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) nanostructures with ordered nanochannels and nanosheets as well as fast and enantiotropic selectivity. Such media can potentially be used in membrane-based separations of ions, organic molecules, and even chiral species within the intermediate region at the transition from the nanofiltration and ultrafiltration regimes. The research will explore factors such as the materials’ organized porosity, pore shapes and orientation (channel-like or slit-like), narrow size distribution, and potential chiral-biased interactions to tailor molecular transport and membrane separation performance. The first research objective is synthesizing nanocrystals and nanosheets and modifying the materials’ surfaces to tailor their organization, surface chemistries, and inter-structural interactions, achieving ordered morphologies with controlled pore organization. The second objective is fabricating robust ultrathin membranes with organized helicoidal and stacked structures. The membranes will be fabricated using chemically modified needle-like (1D) cellulose nanocrystals and 2D titanium carbide nanosheets with chiral nematic organization and tailored porosity shape and orientation, pitch length, and local chirality. The performance will be assessed using a set of common dyes in solution. The third objective is to characterize the organized low-dimensional materials' internal nanoscale organization, porosity, orientation, and mechanical performance. This information can be applied to control local and global molecular-nanoscale transport through shortened tortuosity, directional channels, and chiral bias and, thus, for studying the transport of select metal ions, dyes, and chiral molecules. The project will yield a deep fundamental understanding of the complex transport phenomena in organized multiphase membranes with long-range organized nanocrystal and nanosheet assemblies; such knowledge is essential to the design of mechanically robust molecular separation membranes with high permeance, selectivity, and rejection rate.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

精细化学、药物研究和其他复杂纯化过程中的许多重要应用都依赖于从溶液和悬浮液中有效分离分子的分离过程。目前的无定形聚合物或纸基膜具有随机形态、孔隙率控制不佳且缺乏机械强度。使用这些材料平衡膜的渗透性和选择性性能也具有挑战性，这些综合因素限制了无定形聚合物和纸基膜在高压应用中快速有效的分子分离的用途。具有不同孔径、形状和表面化学性质的聚合物材料使得合理设计分子传输特性变得困难，因此，该项目将研究具有长程有序低维结构元素的膜的分子传输现象和材料特性，以推进基础研究。此外，该研究项目将为来自不同背景的研究生和本科生提供跨学科研究培训机会，帮助他们为工业职业做好准备。调查员的软纳米材料课程开发工作。该项目的最终研究目标是了解具有有序纳米通道和纳米片的高度组织的一维和二维（1D 和 2D）纳米结构中的空间、空间和尺度依赖性分子传输原理这种介质具有快速和对映异构体选择性，可用于从纳滤和超滤状态过渡的中间区域内的离子、有机分子甚至手性物质的膜分离。研究将探索材料的组织孔隙率、孔形状和方向（通道状或狭缝状）、窄尺寸分布以及潜在的手性偏向相互作用等因素，以调整分子传输和膜分离性能。合成纳米晶体和纳米片并修改材料的表面以调整其组织、表面化学和结构间相互作用，实现具有受控孔隙组织的有序形态。具有有序螺旋和堆叠结构的膜将使用化学改性的针状（1D）纤维素纳米晶体和具有手性向列组织和定制的孔隙形状和方向、节距长度和局部手性的性能。使用溶液中的一组常见染料进行评估第三个目标是表征有组织的低维材料的内部纳米级组织、孔隙率、取向和机械性能。该信息可用于通过缩短的曲折度、定向通道和手性偏差来控制局部和全局分子纳米级传输，从而用于研究选定金属离子、染料和手性分子的传输。对具有长程有序纳米晶体和纳米片组件的有序多相膜中的复杂传输现象有深入的基本了解，这些知识对于设计具有高渗透性、选择性和稳定性的机械坚固的分子分离膜至关重要；该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。