Mosaic Membranes

Student: Anand Shah, 2018-2019

Dr. William Phillip has developed a technique to rapidly produce nano-porous, charged mosaic membranes using commercial printing devices. These membranes have positively and negatively charged domains throughout the membranes that can selectively filter out ionic contaminants from solvents through an array of pores that allow them to act as nanofilters. Dr. Phillip has also developed methods for functionalizing these pores to provide mosaic membranes with new charge transport properties. The thesis project will involve understanding the development of these membranes and the advantages/disadvantages over current techniques used in potential applications. I will initially be investigating applications to buffer exchange processes within the pharmaceutical protein-purification industry. Other potential applications include the biochemical and biofuel industries where these membranes may be used in the recovery of fermentation-derived chemicals. After finding the exact use cases for these mosaic membranes, I will be preparing a thorough market analysis and go-to-market strategy for their commercialization.