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Zhu H, Szymczyk A, Ghoufi A. Multiscale modelling of transport in polymer-based reverse-osmosis/nanofiltration membranes: present and future. DISCOVER NANO 2024; 19:91. [PMID: 38771417 PMCID: PMC11109084 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-024-04020-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) processes are physical separation technologies used to remove contaminants from liquid streams by employing dense polymer-based membranes with nanometric voids that confine fluids at the nanoscale. At this level, physical properties such as solvent and solute permeabilities are intricately linked to molecular interactions. Initially, numerous studies focused on developing macroscopic transport models to gain insights into separation properties at the nanometer scale. However, continuum-based models have limitations in nanoconfined situations that can be overcome by force field molecular simulations. Continuum-based models heavily rely on bulk properties, often neglecting critical factors like liquid structuring, pore geometry, and molecular/chemical specifics. Molecular/mesoscale simulations, while encompassing these details, often face limitations in time and spatial scales. Therefore, achieving a comprehensive understanding of transport requires a synergistic integration of both approaches through a multiscale approach that effectively combines and merges both scales. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in multiscale modeling of transport through NF/RO membranes, spanning from the nanoscale to continuum media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haochen Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai, 200092, China.
| | - Anthony Szymczyk
- CNRS, ISCR (Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes) - UMR 6226, Univ Rennes, 35000, Rennes, France.
| | - Aziz Ghoufi
- CNRS, ICMPE (Institut de Chimie et des Matériaux Paris-Est) - UMR 7182, Univ Paris-East Creteil, 94320, Thiais, France.
- CNRS, IPR (Institut de Physique de Rennes) - UMR 6251, Univ Rennes, 35000, Rennes, France.
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2
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Ouinten ML, Szymczyk A, Ghoufi A. Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study of Organic Solvents Confined in PIM-1 and P84 Polyimide Membranes. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:1237-1243. [PMID: 36696629 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) has recently proved to be a promising separation process thanks to the development of membrane materials with suitable resistance toward organic solvents. Among those materials, P84 polyimide membranes are currently the most used in OSN while PIM-1 membranes have recently attracted attention due to their high permeance in apolar solvents and alcohols. Both P84 and PIM-1 membranes have nanosized free volumes, and their separation performance is finely connected to polymer/solvent interactions. Consequently, modeling OSN membranes at the molecular scale is highly desirable in order to rationalize experimental observations and gain a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms ruling solvent and solute permeation. A prerequisite for understanding solvent transport through OSN membranes is therefore to characterize the membrane/solvent interactions at the molecular level. For that purpose, we carried out molecular simulations of three different solvents, acetone, methanol, and toluene in contact with P84 and PIM-1 membranes. The solvent uptake by both membranes was found to be correlated to the degree of confinement of the solvent, the polymer swelling ability and polymer/solvent interactions. The translational dynamics of the solvent molecules in the PIM-1 membrane was found to be correlated with the solvent viscosity due to the relatively large pores of this membrane. That was not the case with the P84 membrane, which has a much denser structure than the PIM-1 membrane and for which it was observed that the translational dynamics of the confined solvent molecules was directly correlated to the affinity between the P84 polymer and the solvent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed-Lamine Ouinten
- Université Rennes, CNRS, IPR (Institut de Physique de Rennes) - UMR 6251F-35000Rennes, France.,Université Rennes, CNRS, ISCR (Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes) - UMR 6226F-35000Rennes, France
| | - Anthony Szymczyk
- Université Rennes, CNRS, ISCR (Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes) - UMR 6226F-35000Rennes, France
| | - Aziz Ghoufi
- Université Rennes, CNRS, IPR (Institut de Physique de Rennes) - UMR 6251F-35000Rennes, France
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3
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Mason TG, Freeman BD, Izgorodina EI. Influencing Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Ion-Exchange Membranes by Considering Comonomer Propagation. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas G. Mason
- School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC3800, Australia
| | - Benny D. Freeman
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas78712, United States
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Guo W, Chai S, Zhang L, Du J. Computer‐Aided Design of Crosslinked Polymer Membrane Using Machine Learning and Molecular Dynamics. CHEM-ING-TECH 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/cite.202200131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Guo
- Dalian University of Technology Institute of Process Systems Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering 116024 Dalian China
| | - Shiyang Chai
- Dalian University of Technology Institute of Process Systems Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering 116024 Dalian China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Dalian University of Technology Institute of Process Systems Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering 116024 Dalian China
| | - Jian Du
- Dalian University of Technology Institute of Process Systems Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering 116024 Dalian China
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5
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Shi YX, Li SH, Zhao ZP. Molecular simulations of the effects of substitutions on the dissolution properties of amorphous cellulose acetate. Carbohydr Polym 2022; 291:119610. [DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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6
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Ouinten ML, Szymczyk A, Ghoufi A. Interactions between methanol/toluene binary mixtures and an organic solvent nanofiltration PIM-1 membrane. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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7
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Tow GM, Maginn EJ. Cross-Linking Methodology for Fully Atomistic Models of Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene and Determination of Mechanical Properties. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Garrett M. Tow
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Edward J. Maginn
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
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8
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Henry MM, Thomas S, Alberts M, Estridge CE, Farmer B, McNair O, Jankowski E. General-Purpose Coarse-Grained Toughened Thermoset Model for 44DDS/DGEBA/PES. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:polym12112547. [PMID: 33143261 PMCID: PMC7693565 DOI: 10.3390/polym12112547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of this work is to predict the morphology and material properties of crosslinking polymers used in aerospace applications. We extend the open-source dybond plugin for HOOMD-Blue to implement a new coarse-grained model of reacting epoxy thermosets and use the 44DDS/DGEBA/PES system as a case study for calibration and validation. We parameterize the coarse-grained model from atomistic solubility data, calibrate reaction dynamics against experiments, and check for size-dependent artifacts. We validate model predictions by comparing glass transition temperatures measurements at arbitrary degree of cure, gel-points, and morphology predictions against experiments. We demonstrate for the first time in molecular simulations the cure-path dependence of toughened thermoset morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael M. Henry
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA; (M.M.H.); (S.T.); (M.A.)
| | - Stephen Thomas
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA; (M.M.H.); (S.T.); (M.A.)
| | - Mone’t Alberts
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA; (M.M.H.); (S.T.); (M.A.)
| | | | | | - Olivia McNair
- The Boeing Company, St. Louis, MO 63134, USA; (C.E.E.); (O.M.)
| | - Eric Jankowski
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA; (M.M.H.); (S.T.); (M.A.)
- Correspondence:
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9
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Greenfield ML. Representing polymer molecular structure using molecular simulations for the study of liquid sorption and diffusion. Curr Opin Chem Eng 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.coche.2020.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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10
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Thomas S, Alberts M, Henry MM, Estridge CE, Jankowski E. Routine million-particle simulations of epoxy curing with dissipative particle dynamics. JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL & COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY 2018. [DOI: 10.1142/s0219633618400059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Mesoscale simulation techniques have helped to bridge the length scales and time scales needed to predict the microstructures of cured epoxies, but gaps in computational cost and experimental relevance have limited their impact. In this work, we develop an open-source plugin epoxpy for HOOMD-Blue that enables epoxy crosslinking simulations of millions of particles to be routinely performed on a single modern graphics card. We demonstrate the first implementation of custom temperature-time curing profiles with dissipative particle dynamics and show that reaction kinetics depend sensitively on the stochastic bonding rates. We provide guidelines for modeling first-order reaction dynamics in a classic epoxy/hardener/toughener system and show structural sensitivity to the temperature-time profile during cure. We conclude with a discussion of how these efficient large-scale simulations can be used to evaluate ensembles of epoxy processing protocols to quantify the sensitivity of microstructure on processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Thomas
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
| | - Monet Alberts
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
| | - Michael M Henry
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
| | | | - Eric Jankowski
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
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11
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Kupgan G, Abbott LJ, Hart KE, Colina CM. Modeling Amorphous Microporous Polymers for CO2 Capture and Separations. Chem Rev 2018; 118:5488-5538. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Grit Kupgan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- George & Josephine Butler Polymer Research Laboratory, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Center for Macromolecular Science & Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Lauren J. Abbott
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Kyle E. Hart
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Coray M. Colina
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- George & Josephine Butler Polymer Research Laboratory, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Center for Macromolecular Science & Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
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12
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Tan L, Tan B. Hypercrosslinked porous polymer materials: design, synthesis, and applications. Chem Soc Rev 2018; 46:3322-3356. [PMID: 28224148 DOI: 10.1039/c6cs00851h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 572] [Impact Index Per Article: 95.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Hypercrosslinked polymers (HCPs) are a series of permanent microporous polymer materials initially reported by Davankov, and have received an increasing level of research interest. In recent years, HCPs have experienced rapid growth due to their remarkable advantages such as diverse synthetic methods, easy functionalization, high surface area, low cost reagents and mild operating conditions. Judicious selection of monomers, appropriate length crosslinkers and optimized reaction conditions yielded a well-developed polymer framework with an adjusted porous topology. Post fabrication of the as developed network facilitates the incorporation of various chemical functionalities that may lead to interesting properties and enhance the selection toward a specific application. To date, numerous HCPs have been prepared by post-crosslinking polystyrene-based precursors, one-step self-polycondensation or external crosslinking strategies. The advent of these methodologies has prompted researchers to construct well-defined porous polymer networks with customized micromorphology and functionalities. In this review, we describe not only the basic synthetic principles and strategies of HCPs, but also the advancements in the structural and morphological study as well as the frontiers of potential applications in energy and environmental fields such as gas storage, carbon capture, removal of pollutants, molecular separation, catalysis, drug delivery, sensing etc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangxiao Tan
- Key Laboratory for Large-Format Battery Materials and System Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
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13
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Kupgan G, Liyana-Arachchi TP, Colina CM. NLDFT Pore Size Distribution in Amorphous Microporous Materials. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2017; 33:11138-11145. [PMID: 28829600 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b01961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The pore size distribution (PSD) is one of the most important properties when characterizing and designing materials for gas storage and separation applications. Experimentally, one of the current standards for determining microscopic PSD is using indirect molecular adsorption methods such as nonlocal density functional theory (NLDFT) and N2 isotherms at 77 K. Because determining the PSD from NLDFT is an indirect method, the validation can be a nontrivial task for amorphous microporous materials. This is especially crucial since this method is known to produce artifacts. In this work, the accuracy of NLDFT PSD was compared against the exact geometric PSD for 11 different simulated amorphous microporous materials. The geometric surface area and micropore volumes of these materials were between 5 and 1698 m2/g and 0.039 and 0.55 cm3/g, respectively. N2 isotherms at 77 K were constructed using Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo (GEMC) simulations. Our results show that the discrepancies between NLDFT and geometric PSD are significant. NLDFT PSD produced several artificial gaps and peaks that were further confirmed by the coordinates of inserted particles of a specific size. We found that dominant peaks from NLDFT typically reported in the literature do not necessarily represent the truly dominant pore size within the system. The confirmation provides concrete evidence for artifacts that arise from the NLDFT method. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to show the high dependency of PSD as a function of the regularization parameter, λ. A higher value of λ produced a broader and smoother PSD that closely resembles geometric PSD. As an alternative, a new criterion for choosing λ, called here the smooth-shift method (SSNLDFT), is proposed that tuned the NLDFT PSD to better match the true geometric PSD. Using the geometric pore size distribution as our reference, the smooth-shift method reduced the root-mean-square deviation by ∼70% when the geometric surface area of the material is greater than 100 m2/g.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grit Kupgan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Thilanga P Liyana-Arachchi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Coray M Colina
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
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14
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Huang
- Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
- Macromolecules Innovation Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - S. Richard Turner
- Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
- Macromolecules Innovation Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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15
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16
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Kupgan G, Liyana-Arachchi TP, Colina CM. Pore size tuning of poly(styrene-co-vinylbenzyl chloride-co-divinylbenzene) hypercrosslinked polymers: Insights from molecular simulations. POLYMER 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2016.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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17
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Liyana-Arachchi TP, Sturnfield JF, Colina CM. Ultrathin Molecular-Layer-by-Layer Polyamide Membranes: Insights from Atomistic Molecular Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:9484-94. [PMID: 27558460 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b02801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we present an atomistic simulation study of several physicochemical properties of polyamide (PA) membranes formed from interfacial polymerization or from a molecular-layer-by-layer (mLbL) on a silicon wafer. These membranes are composed of meta-phenylenediamine (MPD) and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid chloride (TMC) for potential reverse osmosis (RO) applications. The mLbL membrane generation procedure and the force field models were validated, by comparison with available experimental data, for hydrated density, membrane swelling, and pore size distributions of PA membranes formed by interfacial polymerization. Physicochemical properties such as density, free volume, thickness, the degree of cross-linking, atomic compositions, and average molecular orientation (which is relevant for the mLbL membranes) are compared for these different processes. The mLbL membranes are investigated systematically with respect to TMC monomer growth rate per substrate surface area, MPD/TMC ratio, and the number of mLbL deposition cycles. Atomistic simulations show that the mLbL deposition generates membranes with a constant film growth if both the TMC monomer growth rate and MPD/TMC monomer ratio are kept constant. The film growth rate increases with TMC monomer growth rate or MPD/TMC ratio. Furthermore, it was found on one hand that the mLbL membrane density and free volume varies significantly with respect to the TMC monomer growth rate, while on the other hand the degree of cross-linking and the atomic composition varies considerably with the MPD/TMC ratio. Additionally, it was found that both TMC and MPD orient at a tilted angle with respect to the substrate surface, where their angular distribution and average angle orientation depend on both the TMC growth rate and the number of deposition cycles. This study illustrates that molecular simulations can play a crucial role in the understanding of structural properties that can empower the design of the next generation RO membranes created from molecular-layer-by-layer (mLbL) on a silicon wafer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thilanga P Liyana-Arachchi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - James F Sturnfield
- Engineering and Process Sciences, Process Optimization, The Dow Chemical Company , North Brazosport Boulevard, Freeport, Texas 77541, United States
| | - Coray M Colina
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
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18
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Jimenez-Solomon MF, Song Q, Jelfs KE, Munoz-Ibanez M, Livingston AG. Polymer nanofilms with enhanced microporosity by interfacial polymerization. NATURE MATERIALS 2016; 15:760-7. [PMID: 27135857 DOI: 10.1038/nmat4638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 376] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Highly permeable and selective membranes are desirable for energy-efficient gas and liquid separations. Microporous organic polymers have attracted significant attention in this respect owing to their high porosity, permeability and molecular selectivity. However, it remains challenging to fabricate selective polymer membranes with controlled microporosity that are stable in solvents. Here we report a new approach to designing crosslinked, rigid polymer nanofilms with enhanced microporosity by manipulating the molecular structure. Ultrathin polyarylate nanofilms with thickness down to 20 nm are formed in situ by interfacial polymerization. Enhanced microporosity and higher interconnectivity of intermolecular network voids, as rationalized by molecular simulations, are achieved by using contorted monomers for the interfacial polymerization. Composite membranes comprising polyarylate nanofilms with enhanced microporosity fabricated in situ on crosslinked polyimide ultrafiltration membranes show outstanding separation performance in organic solvents, with up to two orders of magnitude higher solvent permeance than membranes fabricated with nanofilms made from non-contorted planar monomers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Qilei Song
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Kim E Jelfs
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Marta Munoz-Ibanez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Andrew G Livingston
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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Semino R, Ramsahye NA, Ghoufi A, Maurin G. Microscopic Model of the Metal-Organic Framework/Polymer Interface: A First Step toward Understanding the Compatibility in Mixed Matrix Membranes. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2016; 8:809-19. [PMID: 26653765 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b10150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
An innovative computational methodology integrating density functional theory calculations and force field-based molecular dynamics simulations was developed to provide a first microscopic model of the interactions at the metal-organic framework (MOF) surface/polymer interface. This was applied to the case of the composite formed by the polymer of intrinsic microporosity, PIM-1, and the zeolitic imidazolate framework, ZIF-8, as a model system. We found that the structure of the composite at the interface is the result of both the chemical affinity between PIM-1 and ZIF-8 and the rigidity of the polymer. Specifically, there is a preferential interaction between the -CN groups of PIM-1 and the NH terminal functions of the organic linker at the ZIF-8 surface. Additionally, the resulting conformation of the polymer gives rise to interfacial microvoids at the vicinity of the MOF surface. The porosity, rigidity, and density of the interfacial polymer were analyzed and compared to those for the bulk polymer. It was shown that the polymer still feels the impact of the MOF surface even at long distances above 15-20 Å. Further, both the polydispersity of the polymer and the flexibility of the MOF surface were revealed to only slightly affect the properties of the MOF/interface. This work, which delivers a microscopic picture of the MOF surface/polymer interactions at the interface, would lead, in turn, to the understanding of the compatibility in MOF-based mixed-matrix membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocio Semino
- Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier UMR 5253 CNRS, Université de Montpellier , Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Naseem A Ramsahye
- Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier UMR 5253 CNRS, Université de Montpellier , Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
- Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS, UM, ENSCM , 8 rue de l'Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Aziz Ghoufi
- Institut de Physique de Rennes, IPR, UMR 6251 CNRS , 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France
| | - Guillaume Maurin
- Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier UMR 5253 CNRS, Université de Montpellier , Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
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Frentrup H, Hart KE, Colina CM, Müller EA. In Silico Determination of Gas Permeabilities by Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics: CO2 and He through PIM-1. MEMBRANES 2015; 5:99-119. [PMID: 25764366 PMCID: PMC4384093 DOI: 10.3390/membranes5010099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Accepted: 02/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We study the permeation dynamics of helium and carbon dioxide through an atomistically detailed model of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity, PIM-1, via non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. This work presents the first explicit molecular modeling of gas permeation through a high free-volume polymer sample, and it demonstrates how permeability and solubility can be obtained coherently from a single simulation. Solubilities in particular can be obtained to a very high degree of confidence and within experimental inaccuracies. Furthermore, the simulations make it possible to obtain very specific information on the diffusion dynamics of penetrant molecules and yield detailed maps of gas occupancy, which are akin to a digital tomographic scan of the polymer network. In addition to determining permeability and solubility directly from NEMD simulations, the results shed light on the permeation mechanism of the penetrant gases, suggesting that the relative openness of the microporous topology promotes the anomalous diffusion of penetrant gases, which entails a deviation from the pore hopping mechanism usually observed in gas diffusion in polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik Frentrup
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Kyle E Hart
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Coray M Colina
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Erich A Müller
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
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22
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23
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J. Abbott
- Department
of Materials Science
and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Coray M. Colina
- Department
of Materials Science
and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
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