(2fv) Novel Polymer and Composite Materials: From Molecular Design to Applications

My research interests lie in understanding the structure-property-function relationship of polymer and composite materials, applying this understanding to the novel design and processing of functional materials, and providing material-based solutions to a range of engineering problems such as water and energy harvesting, environmental protection, and healthcare and electronic devices.

Research Experience

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate advised by Prof. Yu Mao at Oklahoma State University, working on the synthesis, characterization, and application of novel polymer nanocoatings. It includes: (1) Membrane surface engineering for desalination and wastewater treatment. By employing coating synthesis and characterization tools, I demonstrated how the membrane surface chemical composition and physical morphology determine the membrane fundamental properties, such as mass transport kinetics and dynamic physiochemical affinity to free molecules, as well as the membrane practical performance, such as selectivity and stability. The acquired understanding has guided the development of high-productivity, anti-fouling membranes for seawater desalination and oil contaminated wastewater treatment. (2) Development of new surface patterning strategies for environmental and energy applications. I developed new vapor-phase synthetic chemistry, which in combination with nano/micro-fabrication techniques such as 3D printing and lithography, can enable surface patterning in a substrate-independent manner. I demonstrated surface pattern-actuated droplet dynamics and steered the dynamics in emerging applications including fog collectors, heat exchanger, and 2D open microfluidics.

Prior to my Ph.D. study, I worked on the design of synthetic routes of small organic molecules with Prof. Chuan He at Grubbs Institute, graphene quantum dots-directed synthesis of noble metal nanosheets with Prof. Peng Chen at Nanyang Technological University, and transition metal-functionalized silica catalysts with Prof. Baitao Li at South China University of Technology.

Future Research

In the future I will be devoted to the research directions described below. Meantime, I am open to collaboration on other topics. I embrace interdisciplinary research and new challenges. (1) Surface engineering for water reclamation. Surfaces and interfaces play a pivotal role in many physiochemical processes as well as in numerous water reclamation technologies. Devices reclaim water through their surface dynamic interactions with water molecules. To control this interaction, the devices must be endowed with desired surface characteristics. However, materials with ideal spatial properties, such as chemical composition and morphology, often lack the required surface characteristics. One of my future research directions will focus on the surface engineering of water reclamation devices such as membranes, fog collectors, and photothermal distiller. (2) Open microfluidics for next-generation chemical synthesis and characterization. Surface-tension-confined (STC) microfluidics is an emerging platform capable of manipulating miniscule volumes of droplets. Different from traditional 3D channel-based microfluidics, STC microfluidic devices confine fluids to the designated area that possesses a higher surface energy than background surfaces, leading to directional guidance of fluids along 2D open tracks. Importantly, such open microfluidics offers the feasibility to integrate with a broad spectrum of surface analytical techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. For the first time, I demonstrated the oil/water microdroplet separation and sample analysis using STC microfluidics. As one of my future research directions, I will focus on the development of STC microfluidic platforms that can enable both flow chemistry synthesis and in-situ, real-time sample analysis and characterization. This will contribute to understanding the mechanisms of a wide range of chemical reactions.

Publications

(Published in Peer-Reviewed Journals)

[4] M. Zhu, Y. Mao, "Vapor-deposited Janus membranes with fouling resistance for desalination of oil-contaminated wastewater", Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2021, 8, 2101738.

[3] Q. Song, M. Zhu, Y. Mao, "Chemical vapor deposited polyelectrolyte coatings with osteoconductive and osteoinductive activities", Surface and Coatings Technology, 2021, 423, 127522.

[2] M. Zhu, Y. Mao, "Large-pore-size membranes tuned by chemically vapor deposited nanocoatings for rapid and controlled desalination", RSC Advances, 2020, 10, 40562.

[1] Mahmodi, S. Dangwal, P. Zarrintaj, M. Zhu, Y. Mao, D.N. McLlroy, M. Reza Saeb, V. Vatanpour, J.D. Ramsey, S.-J. Kim, "NaA zeolite-coated meshes with tunable hydrophilicity for oil-water separation", Separation and Purification Technology, 2020, 240, 116630.

(In Preparation)

[3] M. Zhu, Y. Mao, "Spontaneous Oil-Water Microdroplet Separation via Open Microfluidics"

[2] M. Zhu, Y. Mao, "Substrate-Independent Wettability Patterning via Polymer Vapor Polymerization for Mass and Heat Transfer"

[1] M. Zhu, C. Huang, Y. Mao, "Silica Nanofilm-Coated Glass Membrane with Versatile Antifouling Performance for Oil-in-Water Separation"

Presentations

[3] M. Zhu, C. Huang, Y. Mao, “Ultrasmooth silica nanofilm-coated membranes with enhanced antifouling and separation performance for oil-water emulsions”, Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2021 (online).

[2] M. Zhu, Y. Mao, “Membrane distillation of oil-contaminated wastewater using novel fouling-resistant Janus membranes” Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2021, Boston, MA, USA.

[1] M. Zhu, Y. Mao, “Chemical vapor modified membranes with large pore size for efficient desalination”, Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2020 (online).

Teaching Interest

I have teaching interests in materials science and engineering, materials characterization, membrane separation. I am also interested in developing new courses as needed in the department.