SUMMER RESEARCH TRAINING IN MEMBRANE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2008 NSF REU SITE PROGRAM at the UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
The Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, College of Engineering is pleased to offer this research project as part of the 2008 summer NSF-REU Site Program administered by the Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics.  Students interested in this project are urged to contact Professor Dong to discover more about the project, learn what your responsibilities will be during the ten-week research training program.
Project #:  08 - 005        Faculty Supervisor/Mentor: Junhang Dong, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chemical & Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Cincinnati Email: junhang.dong@ uc.edu
Study on Molecular and Ionic Diffusion in Zeolite Films by an Optical Method
General background and significance of the project: The ability of pure-silica zeolite (PSZ) membranes to serve as semipermeable barriers for ionic solutions has been recently demonstrated by molecular dynamic (MD) simulations in the literature and by our laboratory reverse osmosis (RO) experiments. The pure-silica zeolites do not contain cation compensators; hence they have no ion-exchange capacities. In perfect PSZ membranes, the uniform sub-nanometer zeolitic pores are sufficiently large for water molecules (dynamic size ~3.0 Å) to diffuse through but small enough to restrict the entry and transport of hydrated ions and large dissolved organic molecules. Due to their excellent chemical, thermal, and mechanical stabilities, PSZ membranes are potentially useful for treating organic-containing saline wastewater by RO, especially in harsh environments involving strong solvent, radioactive components, acidic and basic solutions, elevated temperatures, and high differential pressures where polymeric membranes are not applicable. To develop this new membrane technology further for water treatment, characterization of the ionic and organic molecular diffusivity in the zeolite membranes is of critical importance.
Brief description of proposed research and activities for the 10-week REU period: This summer REU project aims to engage undergraduate student(s) in the study of ion and molecular diffusion in zeolite films using a zeolite-fiber integrated micro-sensor device recently developed in our laboratory. The REU student will contribute to this research by synthesizing the zeolite-fiber micro-device (sensor), measuring the optical sensor response to ions and dissolved organic in liquid solutions, data processing, and modeling for diffusivity calculations.
What the REU Student can gain from participating in this project: The specific research focus of the REU student will be decided based on the student’s background and interest, and a detailed research plan will be created through discussions with Professor Dong. The REU student will be exposed to highly multidisciplinary research at the interface between materials science, chemical engineering, and electrical and optical engineering. Significant contributions made by the REU student will result in co-authorship on conference presentations and papers, and peer-reviewed articles arising from the research.