• Pre-assembly of Well-Defined Polysilsesquioxanes:

• Pre-assembly of Well-Defined Polysilsesquioxanes:

Membranes are an increasingly important technology for chemical separations. Improvements in membrane materials and engineering have expanded their application from filtration and reverse osmosis to gas separations. Further improvements in membrane materials are necessary for economical application to chemical separations. Inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic materials have been the target of many membrane research efforts due to the materials superior chemical and thermal stability. Our research is directed at evaluating hybrid organic-inorganic and inorganic materials for membrane separations of gases (H2/CH4; CO2/CH4, O2/N2) and hydrocarbons. Research subjects include polysilsesquioxane, inorganic, catalytic, and facilitated transport membranes. Well defined, soluble polysilsesquioxanes are prepared so that they can be chemically cured upon deposition as a thin film membrane. Inorganic and catalytic membranes are being prepared by the controlled pyrolysis of thin films of polysilsesquioxanes. Facilitated transport membranes are built using anisotropic precursor materials to template chemically modified transport paths. Lastly, we are developing new highly parallel or combinatorial screens for membrane materials.

Contact: Doug Loy