DISSERTATION DEFENSE
Matthew Vasuta, Interdisciplinary Materials Science
*under the supervision of Kane Jennings
鈥淢ulticomponent Thin Films and Membranes by Combined Spin Coating and Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization鈥�
9.21.26 | 1:00 pm | 209 Furman Hall
Thermally driven separations such as distillation necessitate large energy demands, motivating the development of selective polymer membranes as low energy substitutes. In this dissertation, I advance a combined membrane synthesis and deposition method, spin coating ring-opening metathesis polymerization, to identify multicomponent membranes that most selectively permeate water over ethanol. Four studies investigate how the composition and spatial organization of multiple functionalities can be tailored to control thin film properties and water/ethanol transport. The first study uses random copolymerization to demonstrate how PFAS content in a membrane can be reduced without substantial losses in surface properties and ethanol dehydration performance. The second study demonstrates the ability to improve upon the flux of a hydrophobic membrane by incorporation of dilute quantities of hydroxamic acids. The third study expands from random copolymers to layered films through sequential monomer deposition, enabling rapid fabrication of distinct polymer layers with independently tailored bulk and surface functionality, controllable thickness, and surface energies. The final study applies the principles of the third study to ethanol dehydration and shows how the layering of two mildly selective polymer membranes can cause synergistic improvements to overall membrane selectivity. Collectively, this work establishes scROMP as a rapid and versatile platform for multicomponent thin film synthesis and demonstrates that controlling both the amount and spatial distribution of chemical functionality provides a powerful strategy for designing polymer surfaces and highly selective membranes.