Nanocomposite Materials for
Environmental Applications
Dr. Mary Laura Lind
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
University of California Los Angeles
ABSTRACT
This talk will discuss recent work on advanced nanocomposite membrane materials. Understanding the effects of nanoscale interactions on bulk material properties enables the design of novel materials with advanced functionalities. Within the context of sustainable engineering, advanced nanomaterials allow improved industrial separations (sorbants, catalysts, membranes), advanced water purification (low energy desalination, non-toxic biocides), environmental remediation (CO2 sequestration, contaminant cleanup), and renewable energy production (fuel cells, photovoltaics, osmotic power). Inside this framework, we explore the introduction of molecular-sieve nanoparticles into thin polymeric films and the resulting effects on water and ion transport when tested as reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. These "thin film nanocomposite" (TFN) membranes have the potential to address numerous limitations of current RO technology, including eneergy demand, solute selectivity, membrane stability, and fouing resistance. We have developed mechanistic insights about how nanoscale interactions and structures influence the macroscopic material properties and we are using this knowledge to create new multi-functional membrane materials. Results will be presented that examine how changes in polymer chemistry, nanoparticle size, and molecular-sieve pore size work in concert to determine the resulting nanocomposite membrane chemical structure, physical morphology, interfacial properties, and separation performance. This talk will survey several of the most important unanswered questions, the methods we propose to find answers, and possible extensions to new applications.
BIO
Dr. Mary Laura Lind is a California Nanosystems Institute Pioneer Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California Los Angeles working with Prof. Eric M.V. Hoek in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Dr. Lind received her Ph.D. in Materials Science from the California Institute of Technology and her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Yale University.
