(6lb) Polymer Science in Developing Fibrous materials for Advanced Technical Applications

Motivation

Maintaining an unbroken period of growth over the past 40 years, the global nonwoven fabrics market accounted for $44.4 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $98.8 billion by 2026. The market uses polymeric materials including natural fibers (cotton, jute, flax, wool), synthetic fibers (polyester, polypropylene, polyamide, rayon), special fibers (glass, carbon, nanofibers, bicomponent, superabsorbent fibers), etc in spun-bond, wet-laid, dry-laid, and e-spun technologies for end-user applications like construction, textiles, healthcare, automotive, and filtration. Due to increasing demand for nonwovens in existing markets and the new applications and opportunities that are opening up every day, the nonwovens industry continues to be adaptive, creative and relentlessly opportunistic. Rapid innovation in raw material research is driving the market away from carcinogenic glass fibers to synthetic fibers and also, rooted in the environmental impacts, from oil-based synthetics into biopolymers and natural products. In this regard, I propose to build a polymer science program to address the needs of the nonwovens industry through the development of new products and processes.

1. Developing Lofty Staple Fibers

The functionality needed to launch next-generation synthetic fabrics will likely come from composite materials. Nonwovens from wet-laid synthetic fibers suffer from lack of loftiness. This issue stems mainly from low Young’s modulus in these materials. I am interested in developing a high-yield melt-spinning process to produce staple fibers from highly filled polyester/polypropylene composites with diameters ranging 1-30 microns. Running such a project will help the students gain theory knowledge and hands-on experience in polymer composites as well as in polymer processing and rheology. Potential funding: from the nowovens industry, Automobile Companies, Performance Fibers Companies, and MEP at NSF.

2. Electrospinning of 3D Nonwovens for Depth Filtration

Functional nanomaterials by electrospinning enable self-cleaning, super-hydrophilic, super-hydrophobic, and anti-microbial surfaces. Hence, not only does research on e-spun functional nonwovens train students on interfacial phenomena in fibrous composites, but also it gains industry attention for many applications, which extend to filtration, tissue engineering, scaffold constructions, wound dressings, energy conversion and storage, catalysts and enzyme carriers, protective clothing, sensors, drug delivery, cosmetics, electronic and semi-conductive materials. I am interested in taking advantage of the fluffiness in 3D nonwovens from e-spinning for depth filtration (as opposed to surface filtration offered by 2D e-spun materials) used in purifying air. Potential funding: from the air filter industry and MEP at NSF.

3. Facile Route to Production of Superhydrophilic Membranes for Water Filtration

Even though technology advances in espun nanofibers have made it practical to use nanofibrous scaffolds as a unique and breakthrough component in separation media for liquid filtration, the technique suffers from using toxic solvents and depending on many process variables. As an alternative technology, I am interested in developing a spray system using slurries of cellulose nanofibers/chitin/PVOH in water to form superhydrophilic anti-fouling membranes for water filtration. This will help train students in physics of polymer solutions and suspensions as well as in building and optimizing chemical processes. Potential funding: from Membrane Filtration Companies, B3 Program at USDA, and CBET at NSF.

4. Functional Fiber Surface via Green Chemistry and Crystalline Architecture

A current trend of adding value to nonwoven products is witnessed via enhancing function after fabric formation, not through major changes to the nonwoven process itself. Adjusting function at the end of the manufacturing process, by adding functional particles or applying topical finishes, leads to greater flexibility and more diverse surface properties. I am interested in collaborating with the faculty focused on polymer chemistry to work on eco-friendly natural antibacterial finishes for nonwoven fabrics based on chitosan/poly (ethylene oxide) blends. I will also work on introducing super-hydrophobicity to the fibers by adding nano-roughness to the fiber surface, via adjusting polymer crystallite morphology and by adding nanoparticles to the surface. Students working on these projects will become experts in polymer physical chemistry. Potential funding: from Fabric Finishing and Coating Companies, Performance Fibers Companies, and CBET at NSF.

Teaching Interests:

During 2011, I was a fulltime teacher of Chemical Reaction Engineering, Numerical Methods, Unit Operations (+Lab), Aspen Plus Workshop, Heat Transfer (+Lab), and Fluid Mechanics (+Lab). At UMaine, I was a TA in Transport Phenomena. More recently at Penn State, I taught Polymer Rheology and Processing. At MIT, I was also a co-lecturer in Physical Chemistry of Polymers. In the future, I would welcome teaching these courses, but I would also like to teach Filtration: Process & Filter Media, Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics and Colloidal Science. I have published a textbook entitled “Numerical Methods for Process Engineers” with Shiraz University Press and Publisher De Gruyter. I believe effective classroom teaching empowers the students’ ability to think in a critical way and create their own knowledge, and this ultimately benefits the research community. I also think other legitimate purposes of teachers include the need to make a useful contribution to society by helping induct younger human beings into the society’s process for thriving.