Separations and Polymer Chemistry Section

The mission of Separations and Polymer Chemistry Section in the Chemical Sciences Division is to design and synthesize new functional materials for separations and other energy-related applications through understanding chemical and physical processes over a wide variety of length and timescales.

Chemical Separations

Group Leader: Vyacheslav Bryantsev

Develops highly selective receptors, membranes, and processes for the recognition and separation of ions and solid phases from aqueous solutions through fundamental understanding molecular interactions. The team includes specialists in theory and computation, organic synthesis, separations, thermodynamics, spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron scattering, and materials characterization.

Fundamental research questions deal with the principles of design of highly selective receptors for the recognition of ions from aqueous solutions. Such receptors are tailored for efficient and selective crystallization, solvent extraction, ion exchange, and membrane transport. Applied efforts focus on optimizing promising receptors to perform practical separations for such applications as recovery and recycle of critical materials, recycle of used nuclear fuel, desalination, waste treatment, and clean up of environmental contamination.

Carbon and Composites

Group Leader: Amit K. Naskar

Designs and develops new feedstocks and processes for carbon, polymer, and fiber reinforced composite material systems for a variety of applications including structural and multi-functional materials and materials for extreme environments.

Nanomaterials Chemistry 

Group Leader: Shannon Mark Mahurin


Design and synthesize functional nanostructured materials and task specific ionic liquids to gain a fundamental understanding to advance chemical separations, catalysis, and energy storage.

Soft Matter Group

Group Leader: Alexei P. Sokolov

Develops fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical phenomena in soft matter, including synthetic and bio-polymers, polymer nanocomposites, and ionic liquids, and applies this knowledge to design of novel functional and adaptive materials.

Contact

Sheng Dai
Corporate Fellow and Section Head
[email protected]

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