Self-Assembled Block Copolymer Thin Films
Used As Filtration Membrane

Dr. William A. Phillip
Department of Chemical Engineering
Yale University  
    

ABSTRACT
Current ultrafiltration membranes are made using a phase separation technique.  This standard technique results in a pore structure that consists of a polydisperse distribution of pore sizes.  Among this distribution, the larger pores can comprise any desired separation of solutes from solution.  The fabrication of filtration membranes with a monodisperse pore size will be discussed in this talk.  These novel membranes take advantage of the self-assembly of block copolymers.  Block copolymers are macromolecules composed of two or more chemically incompatible polymers (blocks) covalently bonded together.  Depending upon the relative amounts of each block, the copolymer forms different ordered structures 5-50 nm in scale.  The structure of interest to this work is polylactide (PLA) cylinders surrounded by a continuous polystyrene matrix.  Selectively etching the PLA block produces monodisperse pores, which can improve the rejection of dissolved solutes.  Controlling the copolymer self-assembly during the membrane fabrication process as well as the application of these membranes will be discussed.

BIO
William Phillip is currently a postdoctoral research associate working in Menachem Elimelech’s research group at Yale University.  He joined the Elimelech group after completing his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, where he worked with Ed Cussler.  The research focus of his graduate studies was the use of self-assembled block copolymer thin films to perform selective membrane separations.  In his postdoctoral work, an interest in membrane-based separation research continues with a focus on membrane-based water purification technologies, and applying them to improve processes at the water-energy nexus.

OPEN TO ALL FACULTY AND STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME