Mechanical engineering faculty to contribute to separation materials research
Nov 6, 2024
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on University of Wyoming News.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Adri van Duin, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, and Yun Kyung Shin, associate research professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, are part of a University of Wyoming (UW)-led research team that will study 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) — a family of materials designed have optimal traits for use in separating out different materials.
The team, led by UW professor Katie Li-Oakey, received a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program $660,000 grant over three years for their project, titled “Single-Crystalline and Polycrystalline Covalent Organic Framework Membranes: Experimentally and Theoretically Connecting Formation Conditions to Mass Transfer and Selectivity Performance.” The grant, through the DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Services, starts Aug. 1 and ends July 31, 2027.
As part of this project, the team will identify key chemical and physical drivers that lead to successful single-crystal COF formation using both atomistic modeling — which will be conducted by van Duin and Shin — and direct experimental verification.
“Our Penn State team will focus on the atomistic-scale understanding of the self-assembly step in synthesized COFs to guide and accelerate rational design of new-generation COFs and their deployment from the research stage to large scale engineering applications,” Shin said.
The research team also includes Will Dichtel, the Robert L. Letsinger Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, and Caleb Johannesmeyer, a UW senior majoring in chemical engineering.
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