Membrane Science Commons^™

Career: A New Class Of Modified Mesoporous Silica Membranes With Controlled Pore Size And Surface Functionalization Through Unique Synthetic Approaches, William J. Desisto

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Artificial membranes made from sand-like materials known as silica are potentially more energy efficient than other separation processes such as distillation (change in phase from liquid to gas) because there is no phase change required to perform the separation. In addition, the opportunity exists for combining reaction and separation within a single unit using membrane reactors, thereby increasing yield on thermodynamically-limited reactions. However, the fabrication of high-quality silica membranes with pore size control and surface chemistry control remains challenging because of the inherent limits of existing synthetic approaches used to fabricate silica membranes. The researchers at the University of Maine …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Mesoporous Silica Membranes Modified By Atomic And Molecular Layer Deposition, David Emmett Cassidy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inorganic membranes offer a means for chemical separations in a variety of applications including chemical processing, drug delivery systems, battery separators and fuel cells. There is currently a “pore size gap” in silica membranes between 1-2 nanometers. Synthesizing membranes with a fine control of the pore size and distribution within that gap is a significant challenge. This thesis reports findings on using atomic and molecular layer deposition as new synthesis approaches to controlling pore size and chemical functionality of silica membranes. Mesoporous silica membranes, prepared using surfactant-templates with pore diameters ~4nm, were modified using atomic layer deposition and molecular layer …

Capturing Ultrasmall Emt Zeolite From Template-Free Systems, Eng-Poh Ng Dr.

Eng-Poh Ng

No abstract provided.

Membrane Immobilized Reactive Fe/Pd Nanoparticles: Modeling And Tce Degradation Results, Ruo He

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Detoxification of chlorinated organic compound is an important and urgent issue in water remediation nowadays. Trichloroethylene (TCE), as a model compound in this study, has been proved to be degraded effectively by bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) in solution phase. In this study, Fe/Pd bimetallic NPs were synthesized in poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) functionalized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microfiltration membranes. TCE dechlorination with these bimetallic NPs was conducted under different pH values and different metal loadings to study the role of corrosion on reaction rates.

One-dimensional mathematical model with pseudo first-order reaction kinetic was introduced to discuss the TCE dechlorination profile in membrane …

Application Of Electrospinning Technique In The Fabrication Of A Composite Electrode For Pemfc, Joshua Sightler, Eli Mcpherson, William A. Rigdon, Xinyu Huang

Faculty Publications

The Pt/C catalysts were mixed with carbon nanotube (CNT), Nafion™ dispersion and a fiber former, polymer poly-acrylic acid (PAA), to form an ink. The ink was deposited onto aluminum foil attached to a rotating collector via an electrospinning process. The ink composition, mixing procedure, and the E-spin parameters were studied for producing a uniform nanofiber mat on the aluminum substrate. The fiber-mat containing active catalyst ingredients was heat treated and decal transferred onto a Nafion membrane to form a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).