C.T.S.G. Alembic

Polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes (PEMM) are generally fabricated through the Layer-by-Layer (LbL). Although this technique is relatively simple, it involves multiple deposition steps to achieve the desired membrane structure and thickness, making the process time-consuming and labor-intensive. Each layer must be individually applied, often requiring many repetitions to build up a functional membrane. Incorporating nanoparticles into the LbL process can offer a way to reduce the number of steps, as nanoparticles are much larger than individual polyelectrolytes they can significantly increase the adsorption of material in a single deposition cycle. This higher material loading in each step could potentially not only accelerate the membrane assembly but also offer new interesting separation properties leading to PEMMs being utilized for new separations.

Contact info:

Roberto Andrade - j.r.andradeaguirre@utwente.nl 

Tjerk Watt - t.r.watt@utwente.nl