Membranes

Building better membranes holds the key to improved filtration and separation. Of great interest is the desalination of water, which is very energetically expensive due to the high pressures required for reverse osmosis. In this research area we investigate the requirements for improved membranes and find the necessary material combinations to make them.

Nanoporous Silicon

Though silicon is ubiquitous in modern day electronics and has been a material of interest for over half a century, it still offers untapped potential in numerous applications. By inducing pores on the scale of atoms in silicon, we are investigating its ability to act as a water filtration membrane, as well as a medium for energy generation and storage. This work is done with an emphasis on scalability and economical viability, in order to provide realistic solutions for real world problems.

B.D. Smith, J.J. Patil, N. Ferralis, J.C. Grossman, Catalyst Self-Assembly for Scalable Patterning of Sub 10 nm Ultrahigh Aspect Ratio Nanopores in Silicon. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 8, 8043-8049 (2016).