Self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules in the presence of two solvents (oil/water) leads to the formation of lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) with the length scale in the range of 2-50 nm, also called mesophases. LLCs can be used as template to produce mesoporous/mesostructured polymers. The key point in this soft templating method is to preserve the structure. Using amphiphilic block copolymers with slow dynamics and crosslinking the monomer (oil) phase to arrest the structure, we have preserved the mesostructure upon polymerization in LLC templates.
Dr. Reza Foudazi,
University of Oklahoma (OU)
As first example, nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membranes have been produced from the polymerized LLCs. Fabricated membranes have nanometer-size isoporous structure and exhibit both excellent fouling resistance and high permeance of water, vastly outperforming conventional membranes made through non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS). As the second example, we show that ion-gel membranes can be produced from LLCs of ionic liquid and amphiphilic molecules. The proposed templating method provides flexibility in terms of both the final membrane chemistry and domain size. In conclusion, the LLCs can be tailored to produce membranes for a wide range of applications in separation and electrochemical processes.
Dr. Reza Foudazi is an associate professor in the School of Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering (SCBME) at the University of Oklahoma (OU). Before joining OU in 2021, he was a tenured associate professor at New Mexico State University (NMSU). The current research activities in Dr. Foudazi’s group are self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules, templating approach for synthesis of porous polymers, and rheology of soft matter, with the long-term goal of producing responsive multifunctional materials for sustainability and environmental applications.
Dr. Foudazi has authored more than 75 publications in peer-reviewed journals and is inventor of 7 intellectual properties on topics such as producing porous polymers, membranes for filtration, and Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) remediation. Dr. Foudazi is also co-founder of Filtravate, a membrane technology company for applications in the bioprocessing and biopharmaceutical industries. He received the Early Career Award from NMSU Research Council in 2016, Polymer Processing Society Early Career Award in 2019, ACS PMSE Young Investigator Award in 2020, and NMSU Intellectual Property Award in 2021. He was also recognized in the “Mentoring Excellence” program of NMSU in 2016.