Functional polymers for separations.

Electromembrane Processes, a Toolbox for Advanced Separations

Chiral separations in microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography. Use of micelle polymers and microemulsion polymers.

In this study, microemulsions of the chiral surfactant polysodium N-undecenoyl-D-valinate (poly-D-SUV) was utilized for enantiomeric separation by investigating two approaches using polymeric chiral surfactant in microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC). In the first approach, poly-D-SUV was used as an emulsifier surfactant along with 1-butanol and n-heptane. Enantioseparation of ani...

From Commodity Polymers to Functional Polymers

Functional polymers bear specified chemical groups, and have specified physical, chemical, biological, pharmacological, or other uses. To adjust the properties while keeping material usage low, a method for direct synthesis of functional polymers is indispensable. Here we show that various functional polymers can be synthesized by in situ cross-linked polymerization/copolymerization. We demonst...

A practical density functional for polydisperse polymers

– The Flory Huggins equation of state for monodisperse polymers can be turned into a density functional by adding a square gradient term, with a coefficient fixed by appeal to RPA (random phase approximation). We present instead a model nonlocal functional in which each polymer is replaced by a deterministic, penetrable particle of known shape. This reproduces the RPA and square gradient theori...

Hierarchically Functional Polymers for Advanced Membrane Applications

the process environment are needed in many emerging energy and environment technologies, ranging from membranes for gas separation (e.g., carbon capture), water purification (e.g., desalination), to clean energy production (e.g., fuel cell). In the Guo group at the University of Notre Dame, we are focused on molecularly engineering polymer and polymer-based membranes that are both structurally ...