The first universal principles for designing solid-state batteries developed by Korean researchers

The joint research team from KIER and UNIST successfully developed the design principles and toolkit 'SolidXCell' for solid-state batteries

National Research Council of Science & Technology

 

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From left: UNIST Professor Sung-Kyun Jung (co-corresponding author), Mr. Jooho Lee (co-first author), KIER Dr. Jinsoo Kim (co-corresponding author)

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Credit: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH

A Korean research team has presented the first universal design principles for solid-state batteries, signaling a paradigm shift in battery design research that previously lacked standard benchmarks.

Dr. Jinsoo Kim from the Ulsan Advanced Energy Technology R&D Center of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) and Professor Sung-Kyun Jung's research team from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have jointly developed a design principles and a versatile design toolkit for implementing high-energy-density solid-state batteries and have completed performance verification.

With the global increase in demand for electrification, an era where everything is powered by batteries is approaching. In response, the Korean government has announced the "National Strategy for Strengthening the Competitiveness of Battery Industry" to support the focused development of national solid-state battery technology.
*National Strategy for Strengthening the Competitiveness of Battery Industry (April 20, 2023, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

Solid-state batteries use non-flammable solid electrolytes instead of the flammable liquid electrolytes found in lithium-ion batteries, making them safer and less prone to fire. Additionally, they offer the advantage of significantly increasing energy density through efficient cell and system structural design.

Until recently, basic research on solid-state batteries has been conducted, yielding numerous laboratory-level results. However, the lack of scientific guidelines for designing practical electrodes and cells has led to inefficient development, as it primarily relies on the experience of researchers to combine materials and control design parameters.

To address this issue, the research team defined the quantitative design parameters of the battery as the balance threshold, percolation threshold, and loading threshold. This led to the presentation of the first universal principles for designing solid-state batteries. The pouch cell produced based on these principles demonstrated an energy density of 310Wh/kg, surpassing that of commercial lithium batteries, and obtained third-party certification.

Solid-state batteries are composed of composite cathode, anode, and solid electrolyte. The energy density increases with the density of the active materials in the cathode. Based on the 'cubic closed packing' structure, where spherical particles are arranged at maximum density, the research team defined the standard ratio of solid electrolyte filling the spaces between particles as the 'balance threshold.' At this balance threshold, the volume ratio of active material is 74%, and the solid electrolyte is 26%. By adjusting the ratio based on this value, design strategies can be determined between energy density and power density.
*Cubic Closed Packing (CCP): A form where particles are arranged most densely within a cubic structure. In this arrangement, each of the six faces of the cube has half an atom, and each of the eight corners has one-eighth of an atom.

The minimum condition for lithium ion conduction in the composite cathode was also established. The research team defined the minimum density at which composite particles of active materials and solid electrolytes are in contact with each other as the "percolation threshold." Under this condition, the space between composite particles must be 26% or less. If the space exceeds this percentage, the particles will not be in contact, preventing ionic flow and causing the battery to fail to operate.

Additionally, the research team devised a method to design the thickness of the electrode by calculating the specific conditions under which voltage drop occurs within the cathode. The thickness of the electrode is determined by voltage drop due to resistance and current density. The team defined the ideal model as the combination of conditions where the voltage drop is within 100mV (millivolts), calling this the "loading threshold." This condition can be used as a guideline to optimize the thickness of the electrode plates when combining various materials and designing electrodes.

The research team successfully applied the devised design principles to build a pouch cell with a capacity of 0.5Ah and a high-energy-density of 310Wh/kg. The produced cell received official test certification from the Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL), demonstrating the consistency of their design principles.
*The energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries is around 250Wh/kg.

The research team also developed the solid-state battery design toolkit 'SolidXCell' applying the design principles, which is open to the public. 'SolidXCell' is a multi-scale and multi-parameter design platform that allows the intuitive and systematic design of complex solid-state batteries. It is being provided free of charge to researchers for use in solid-state battery design.

Dr. Jinsoo Kim from KIER and Professor Sung-Kyun Jung from UNIST, who led the joint research, stated, “Presenting the first universal design principles for solid-state batteries with developing and sharing a design toolkit will greatly benefit the field of solid-state battery design. We hope that many researchers can use these principles to design solid-state batteries efficiently, promote significant performance improvements, and overcome the current technological barriers.“

The joint research team is currently establishing the "Advanced Battery Engineering Foundry (ABEF)" the first of its kind in the Republic of Korea, with support from the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and Ulsan Metropolitan City. This center will provide infrastructure for manufacturing, evaluating, and analyzing prototypes of all-solid-state batteries, lithium metal batteries, and lithium-sulfur batteries for related companies in the future.

This research was supported by the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). It was published in the prestigious international journal "Nature Communications" (Impact Factor 14.7) in July 2024.

The operating screen of 'SolidXCell' developed by the research team

The research team's achievements published in the prestigious international journal 'Nature Communications'

Credit

KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-50075-9 

Article Title

Advanced parametrization for the production of high-energy solid-state lithium pouch cells containing polymer electrolytes

 

Promoting healthy teen romantic relationships to reduce risk of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections

Improving behavior, attitudes and intentions

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Regenstrief Institute

INDIANAPOLIS -- Romantic relationships play an important part in adolescent development. Most young people have had at least one romantic relationship by middle adolescence (ages 14 to17). However, successful promotion of healthy sexual behavior to reduce risk of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections in this teen population has proven difficult.

Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Research Scientist Arthur Owora, PhD, MPH, a quantitative epidemiologist and applied biostatistician, is the first author of a new multi-site randomized-controlled study which evaluates an innovative healthy relationships program promoting positive adolescent romantic relationships and the use of effective contraceptives. The study found the program may have influenced abstinence but not relationship communication.

Known as About Us, the blended-learning program was designed specifically for youth facing sexual health disparities, including exposure to violence. Delivered by trained health educators, the program focuses on improving behavior, attitudes and intentions related to sexual intercourse, relationship communication and conflict resolution. The study looked at the impact of About Us on 533 students at seven California high schools from 2018 to 2021.

Compared to a control group of students, the About Us programs produced:

• a positive effect on abstinence
• a positive impact on condom use intentions but not on condom use itself
• little impact on contraceptive attitudes
• no impact on relationship communication
• no impact on use of a school-based health center, which typically provides primary care, mental health services and health (including reproductive health) education
• differing results by school site

The seven study sites are in counties with high rates of participation in free and reduced school meals at the high school level, as well as higher birth rates compared with the California average.

“The adolescent years are a critical time to implement efforts to promote a lifetime of healthy sexual behavior and relationships. Effective communication-to-action with this population is complex and has substantial influence from incorrect information taken as fact and sometimes peer pressure. Efforts to reach out to 14 to 17 year olds require appropriate messaging and materials that will resonate with them. What works at School 1 may be less successful at School 2 or more successful at School 3,” said Dr. Owora. “More research is needed to help fine tune programs like About Us to find the right balance that helps teens build the skills they need to maintain healthy relationships. As we saw in our study, it won’t be a ‘one size fits all’ solution.”

The research team reports About Us produced evidence of promising trends at the individual school level, which suggests a need for tailored program components, implementation approaches and delivery (classroom based versus virtual versus fully mobile, for example) options to address the unique environmental contexts of participants at a specific school.

One fifth of the students in the study identified as LGBTQ+ and four-fifths identified as straight. A total of 74 percent identified as Hispanic. Four percent identified as Black. Four percent identified as White. Eighteen percent identified as Other. Sixty two percent were female at birth. All participants received parental consent to participate in the randomized-controlled clinical trial.

“Programs may be more successful as the stresses placed upon students during the pandemic, such as school closures and virtual learning, have diminished,” noted Dr. Owora.

Supported by grant 90AP2682-05-00 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, “Promoting Healthy Adolescent Romantic Relationships: Results of a Multisite, Two-group Parallel Randomized Clinical Trial” is published in Journal of Adolescent Health.

This study received external funding or support from ETR Associates and the Family Youth Services Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families through a Personal Responsibility Education Innovative Strategies Program (PREIS) grant (ClinicalTrials #NCT03736876).

Authors and affiliations:

Arthur H Owora1, Rebecca F Houghton2, John L Ferrand3, Erik Parker2, Pamela Anderson4, Karin Coyle4, Stephanie Guinosso4, Eric R Walsh-Buhi5.

• 1Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana.
• 2Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana.
• 3Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana.
• 4ETR Associates, Scotts Valley, California.
• 5Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana; School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, California.

Arthur H. Owora, PhD, MPH

In addition to his role as a research scientist with the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics at Regenstrief Institute, Arthur H. Owora, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and an adjunct associate professor at IU School of Public Health-Bloomington. The Translational Informatics, Biostatistics and Epidemiology (TIBE) laboratory, led by Dr. Owora, applies novel biostatistical and machine learning methodologies to different (structured and unstructured) and multiple data sources (active and passive) to generate analytics and insights to inform effective clinical decision-making at point-of-care.

 

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Journal

Journal of Adolescent Health

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.02.025 

Article Title

Promoting Healthy Adolescent Romantic Relationships: Results of a Multisite, Two-group Parallel Randomized Clinical Trial

 

Women at risk of ‘digital overload’ – new research reveals

And women are at greater risk than men, according to new research led by Lancaster University

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lancaster University

When it comes to juggling using digital technology for both work and family, women are at greater risk than men of ‘digital overload’, according to new research led by Lancaster University.

The study, which has important implications for the unequal gender division of digital labour, highlights that women are more likely than men to frequently use information and communication technologies (ICT) in both work and family lives.

This work-family ‘digital double burden’ heightens the potential risk of ‘digital overload and burnout’ for women.

The new research, led by Professor Yang Hu, of Lancaster University, working with Professor Yue Qian from the University of British Columbia in Canada, examines gender and digital labour across 29 countries and is published in the journal ‘Community, Work & Family’.

Digital labour involves the use of a diverse range of digital tools and platforms, such as Zoom and WhatsApp, for completing everyday work and domestic tasks.

As the pandemic considerably accelerated the progress of digitalisation, people increasingly and widely use ICT for work and family communication post-COVID-19.

“As frequent ICT use takes time and effort, it constitutes a new form of labour,” explains Professor Hu. “Our study examined gender inequalities in the performance of such digital labour.”

The cross-national study uses latest data from the European Social Survey and looks at how people maintain digital communication for work and family across 29 countries (including the UK).

They limited the sample to 6,654 working respondents aged 30–59 who have both at least one child (aged 12 or above) and at least one living parent, to examine the respondents’ ICT use for both work and family.

They found:

• A distinctive work-family ‘digital double burden’ – women are 1.6 times more likely than men to juggle dual-high digital communication both at work and at home.

• The traditional gender division of labour in work and family lives extends into the performance of digital labour – women are 31% less likely than men to have high work-only digital communication, but they are 2.6 times more likely than men to have high family-only digital communication.

• In the UK, 42% of the respondents have a dual medium-high work-family digital communication, which is lower than the average of 48% across the 29 countries examined. UK respondents are, therefore, to a lesser extent burdened by the dual digital (communicative) labour in work and family lives compared to respondents from, for example, Norway (59%), Spain (54%) and Serbia (65%).

• UK respondents have one of the highest proportions of work-only digital communication, with 30% having a high level of digital (communicative) labour only for work but not in family life. This is one of the highest across the 29 countries examined (only after the 31% in Israel).

“Policymakers, educators, and practitioners are investing heavily in building digital capacity globally in many societies,” said Professor Hu.

“Our findings show that among people with a higher level of digital literacy and in countries where people use the internet more intensely, women are particularly more likely than men to suffer the ‘digital double burden’.”

Professor Qian added: “The findings urge policymakers, educators, and practitioners to incorporate gender equality considerations into their efforts at building digital capacity. Women’s gain in digital literacy should not come at the cost of their juggling heavy digital burden in both work and family lives.”

Following the pandemic, working from home is becoming more widespread.

The study findings also show that frequent working from home exacerbates the ‘digital double burden’ disproportionately falling on women’s shoulders.

While working from home offers workers the flexibility to juggle work and family responsibilities, it’s also becoming a crucial new site of gender inequality in digital labour.

“We need gender-egalitarian work-from-home arrangements and policies,” added Professor Hu.

 

 

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Journal

Community Work & Family

DOI

10.1080/13668803.2024.2373852 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Gendering digital labor: work and family digital communication across 29 countries

 

 NOT JUST FASD

Children can inherit early aging symptoms from parents who abuse alcohol, researchers find

These accelerated aging effects include high cholesterol, heart problems, arthritis, and early onset dementia.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Texas A&M University

 

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Dr. Michael Golding and colleagues

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Credit: Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have discovered that parents who struggle with alcohol use disorders can pass along symptoms of early aging to their children, affecting them well into adulthood. 

These accelerated aging effects — including high cholesterol, heart problems, arthritis, and early onset dementia — can be passed down from either mom or dad individually, but they become worse when both parents have an issue with alcohol abuse, especially in male offspring.

“Scientists have wondered what causes children who grow up in homes where there is alcohol abuse to be more susceptible to becoming sick,” said Dr. Michael Golding, a professor in VMBS’ Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology. “For example, we know that these children have behavioral problems that make it difficult to cope with stress and might lead to conflict with school systems or law enforcement.” 

But what scientists didn’t know was the cause behind the early aging and disease susceptibility — was it stress or something inherited from these children’s parents?

“Now we know that they’re inheriting dysfunction in their mitochondria as a result of their parents’ substance abuse,” Golding said. “The dysfunction causes these individuals to show early signs of age-related disease when they’re still considered young, usually in their 40s.”

With this new understanding, Golding hopes that doctors can work with patients to improve their mitochondrial health — and possibly delay the inherited dysfunction as they age — using methods like exercise and increasing intake of certain vitamins. 

Alcohol And Aging

As adults get older, they develop a biological condition called senescence, which is when cells slow down and stop dividing, limiting the body’s ability to replace deteriorating cells.

“Senescence is a key marker of aging, especially in the brain, where it leads to cognitive dysfunction and memory problems,” Golding said. “Scientists have known for a long time that heavy alcohol use can cause early onset of senescence in adults.”

Using a mouse model, research by Golding and his team revealed that senescence also happens to be one of the early-aging symptoms that offspring can inherit from parents who daily drink alcohol to the legal limit or more. 

“We also see fat increase in the liver, which creates scar tissue,” Golding said. “It’s especially common in male offspring. In fact, if both parents have an issue with alcohol abuse, it can have a compounded effect on male offspring, making them even more likely to get liver disease.”

Parental Drinking And Child Health

Golding’s lab focuses on the biological relationship between parental alcohol use and child development. His lab recently uncovered that fathers — not just mothers — can contribute to children developing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, or FAS. As a result, he also continues to advocate for parents reducing their alcohol consumption prior to conception.

“There are all sorts of problems that children can develop right after they’re born because of FAS,” Golding said. “But what we haven’t understood well until now is how parental drinking habits might go on to affect these children into adulthood and influence their ‘healthspan’ — the number of years someone is healthy without chronic and debilitating disease. 

“Both the birth defects that come with FAS — like abnormal facial features, low birth weight and/or height, and attention and hyperactivity issues — and the stress from living with them create unique challenges. So do any environmental issues that these children may grow up with, including adoption and the foster system,” he said. “But now, we understand that there’s yet another component — early aging — that is inherited directly from one or both parents.”

Understanding Multi-Generational Health

This latest discovery also suggests that parents can pass along the benefits of healthy living to their children. According to Golding, healthy lifestyle choices also compound generationally, making efforts to reverse aging — through things like diet and exercise — beneficial for generations to come. 

“Parental health pre-conception — both parents’ overall health before pregnancy — is critical for the health of offspring,” he explained. “The more you can do as a prospective parent to get into a healthy mindset and a healthy lifestyle, the more significant effects you’ll have on the health of your kid both right at birth and even into their 20s and 40s.”

By Courtney Price, Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

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Journal

Aging and Disease

DOI

10.14336/AD.2024.0722 

Article Title

Parental Alcohol Exposures Associate with Lasting Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Accelerated Aging in a Mouse Model

 

Study reveals mechanism used by tegu lizard to raise own temperature

Salvator merianae, a giant tegu lizard endemic to South America, regulates its own body temperature during the mating season without relying on external heat and without shivering

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

 

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In 2016, researchers supported by FAPESP had shown that tegu lizards reach higher temperatures than the burrows they inhabit in spring. This new study has found a physiological explanation for the phenomenon

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Credit: Livia Saccani Hervas

A group of scientists supported by FAPESP has revealed the mechanism whereby Salvator merianae – the Black and white tegu, also called the Argentine giant tegu – is able to keep warm by raising its own body temperature during the reproductive season even while it is in a dark burrow. This had never been observed before in reptiles. An article on the study is published in Acta Physiologica, which is owned by the Scandinavian Physiological Society.

“Generally speaking, only birds and mammals are considered endotherms, which can keep warm even in a cooling environment. Reptiles and other animals are considered ectotherms, as they rely on external sources to regulate their body temperature,” said Livia Saccani Hervas, first author of the article. The study began during her scientific initiation at São Paulo State University’s School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (FCAV-UNESP) in Jaboticabal, Brazil.

In 2016, another group of scientists supported by FAPESP discovered that S. merianae’s body temperature remains several degrees above the nocturnal burrow temperature during the mating season (read more at: agencia.fapesp.br/22723). 

The species was now known to be part-endothermic, but the origin of this internal heat remained a mystery. Hervas and her group, led by Kênia Cardoso Bícego, a professor at FCAV-UNESP, began investigating the mechanism. Bícego is principal investigator for the FAPESP-funded Thematic Project “Physiological capacities and resilience facing climate change: exploring the functional dimension in ectothermic vertebrates”.  

For three years, the group collected biopsies from the skeletal muscles of ten lizards during summer (February) and spring (September-October). Small tissue samples taken from a front foot and back foot were submitted to biochemical analysis and calorimetry.

“We had to take a long time to establish the protocols, especially reagent doses, because this kind of analysis had never been performed on these lizards,” Bícego said. 

The researchers found that during the reproductive season the muscles of both males and females produced far more mitochondria (cellular energy organelles).

In addition, a protein present in mitochondria called ANT, known to be involved in a biochemical process that generates heat in birds, was more abundant and more active in the lizards during the reproductive season, when females prepare for egg laying and nest building while males seek territory and increase their gonads to get ready for mating. 

UCP, another protein involved in the process of heat generation, but in mammals, was not found to be active during the experiments with S. merianae. Muscle samples collected during the reproductive season produced more heat than in summer owing to the activity of ANT but not UCP.

No shivering

Until the 2016 discovery, the only reptiles known to be able to warm themselves were two species of python, large Asian snakes that can reach 5 m in length. This endothermic behavior occurs mainly while they are incubating eggs. It consists of shivering, a technique also used by some mammals and birds. S. merianae raises its own temperature without shivering, however.

Temperature regulation may be associated with the production of sex hormones, which peaks in the mating season for both males (testosterone) and females (estradiol and progesterone). Other hormones that are abundant in this phase, such as thyroid hormones, are involved in energy expenditure and mobilization of energy reserves. 

“Thyroid hormones are known to trigger a rise in mitochondria. Increased production of these hormones during the mating season may be associated with abundance of mitochondria and hence increased activity of the protein ANT, which helps produce heat and is known in birds,” said Hervas, currently a PhD candidate at FCAV-UNESP. 

The results of the study, as well as the research findings published by other groups, show that mechanisms involved in endothermy may have appeared in vertebrates even earlier than has been estimated. Their presence in a large lizard (without shivering) and a large snake (with shivering), albeit only at a certain time of year, could be a sign that the phenomenon is more common in reptiles than scientists think.

“Both animals have large bodies, in which internally produced heat tends to take longer to dissipate. It’s possible that other large reptiles may also be warmer than the outside temperature at certain times. This is the first description in a lizard, and one that inhabits a subtropical region, of a cellular heat-generating mechanism that closely resembles what happens in birds and mammals,” Bícego said.

Marcos Túlio de Oliveira, penultimate author of the article, is a professor at FCAV-UNESP, also supported by FAPESP, and head of the laboratory where mitochondrial biochemistry experiments were conducted for the study.

The other co-authors included Ane Guadalupe Silva, with a scholarship from FAPESP; and Lara do Amaral Silva and Marina Rincon Sartori, previous awardees of scholarships from FAPESP. 

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.

 

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Journal

Acta Physiologica

DOI

10.1111/apha.14162 

Article Title

Mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle contributes to reproductive endothermy in tegu lizards (Salvator merianae)

 

New membrane technology developed by NYU Abu Dhabi researchers could lead to more effective and efficient water purification systems

Novel approach significantly enhances the speed and efficiency of membrane production, offering promising solutions for water purification challenges

New York University

 

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The image illustrates the tunable wettability of a dual-faced covalent organic framework (COF) membrane synthesized via
microwave-mediated interfacial polymerization. The membrane showcases superhydrophilic and near-hydrophobic properties, enabling superior water filtration capabilities. 

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Credit: NYU Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, August 8, 2024: A team of NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) researchers has developed a novel approach that utilizes microwave technology to more easily synthesize and fine-tune a new type of membrane which effectively purifies water from a wide range of contaminants. The membrane synthesis technique takes a few minutes, making it one of the fastest methods for creating covalent organic framework (COF) membranes. These membranes act as filters in devices designed to clean polluted water from specific contaminants allowing its reuse in different applications – an important discovery at a time when efficient wastewater treatment becomes vital in a world threatened by water scarcity.

The new type of dual-faced membrane, characterized by its unique superhydrophilic and near-hydrophobic surfaces, enables efficient removal of contaminants like oils and dyes from water. This dual functionality not only enhances the filtration process but also endows the membranes with strong antibacterial properties, crucial for long-term usability and effectiveness.

Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the study titled “Tunable Wettability of a Dual-Faced COF Membrane for Enhanced Water Filtration” presents this novel approach developed by Farah Benyettou and Asmaa Jrad under the leadership of Ali Trabolsi, Professor of Chemistry and Co-Principal Investigator at the NYUAD Water Research Center. The team's method involves a one-step microwave-mediated synthesis that occurs at the liquid-water vapor interface, allowing precise control over the membrane’s properties without the need for subsequent modifications.

"By fine-tuning the reaction time, we can adjust the membrane's thickness and its hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics," explained Benyettou. "This capability allows us to tailor the membrane specifically for various types of water pollutants, significantly enhancing both the efficiency and speed of water purification," explained Jrad.

The COF membranes developed by the NYU Abu Dhabi team demonstrate superior performance in removing oil from oil-in-water mixtures and boast exceptional water flux due to their multilayered structure and consistent porosity. Furthermore, these membranes outperform traditional polymeric ones in resisting organic fouling, a common challenge in membrane-based water filtration systems.

This technology represents a significant leap forward in the synthesis of high-quality, crystalline, free-standing COF membranes. "Our method not only simplifies the production process but also enhances the separation capabilities of the membranes, offering a promising solution to critical water purification challenges worldwide," Trabolsi added.

Video [VIDEO] | 

ENDS

About NYU Abu Dhabi

www.nyuad.nyu.edu
NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. Times Higher Education ranks NYU among the top 30 universities in the world, making NYU Abu Dhabi the highest-ranked university in the UAE and MENA region. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 120 countries and speak over 100 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.

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Journal

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Article Title

Tunable Wettability of a Dual-Faced COF Membrane for Enhanced Water Filtration