Many technological hurdles must be overcome in order to improve the performance of adsorption and membrane processes used for industrial separations. This project seeks to evaluate a new nanostructure adsorbent material that has a highly novel form and properties. This material is very large and highly branched at the molecular level and is known as dendrimer due to its dendritic branching structure. The use of dendrimers as adsorbents potentially offers the capability for high adsorption of hydrogen gas as well as a significant potential for natural gas storage and transport. Phase I will evaluate dendrimers using both molecular simulation and experimental development in order to characterize the material. The effort will build upon previous work in which nanostructured material was synthesized and characterized for utilization in gas technologies.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The recent breakthroughs in nanostructured materials offer a unique opportunity for more efficient separation processes. Dendrimers offer the potential of revolutionizing a variety of scientific disciplines from genetic engineering to chemical processing.
