Our global society is going through a time of change, with water scarcity and climate change becoming major challenges. To tackle these issues, we need to make chemical separation processes more efficient, which would help to lower the energy use and improve access to clean water. Membranes with advanced functions beyond just basic separation, can play an important role in this effort. Polyelectrolytes (PEs), which are polymers with electrolytes in their repeating units, and their complexes are especially promising materials for creating such advanced membranes.

The SIPS (Salt-Induced Phase Separation) process exploits the fact that two oppositely charged PEs form an insoluble polyelectrolyte complex in an aqueous solution. However, if another salt is added, the formation of the complex is suppressed and a viscous mass is created that can be used for the fabrication of membranes.

In this work, the SIPS process should be investigated in more detail by analyzing the formation of the PE complex and the resulting membrane. To achieve this, solutions with different PE concentration and crosslinker should be produced, characterized and compared, while focusing on parameter like viscosity (Rheology) or thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The scope of the work package can be adjusted according to the respective time frame. The work can be carried out in either in German or English and the start time can be chosen flexibly.

Tasks:

• Preparation of polyelectrolyte solutions
• Polymer solution characterization (focus of this topic)
• Membrane characterization

Your Profile:

• Enrolled in Chemistry, Water Science, or similar subjects
• Interested in membrane fabrication
• Good communication skills

Supervisor(s):

• Rik Mittelstedt, M.Sc.

Are you interested in this topic and do you want to play an active role in the fabrication of new sustainable membranes? Then don’t hesitate to write me an e-mail (rik.mittelstedt[at]uni-due.de) or come visit me in my office.