(225c) Open-Structured Functionalized Membranes

Functionalization of porous membranes allows extensive applications ranging from selective separations to affinity and adsorption/ion exchange applications. The development of catalytic and responsive, multifunctional materials and membranes for water and bioreactor applications requires a high level of control of both the characteristics of the base polymeric support layer, as well as its corresponding pore configurations. Although membrane processes such as, Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration, Ultrafiltration, and Microfiltration have provided many successful applications ranging from high quality water production to material recovery, but incorporation of nanostructured aspects with tunable properties (learning from life sciences, such as enzymes, and porins)) in membranes has added immense value in separations, reactions, water applications, and green synthesis. Further, one can synthesize catalytic metal nanoparticles in the functionalized membrane for halo-organic detoxification. Can we use existing membranes to functionalize surface or pores and for what benefits? The presentation will include: (a) short overview beyond normal RO/NF/UF, (b) surface (including magnetron sputtering) and pore functionalization approaches to applications, (c) NF type and adsorptive membranes on functionalized MF, (d) creation of charge-charge interaction domain for emerging separations, (e) extension to nanoparticles separation applications, such as, gene therapy AAV2 particles This research has been supported by NSF EPSCoR Track 2 grant, NIH-NIEHS-SRC, and Southern C0.