Functional Materials & Membranes Group
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, New Delhi-110016, India
In the past decade, functional materials and membranes have gained high technical relevance in a wide range of applications ranging from energy, catalysis, water purification, to medical applications. The importance of membrane technology is emphasized by the fact that one of the major challenges of this century is the provision of safe drinking water for a growing population. The unique properties of these discrete mass transfer interfaces arise from the physical structure and chemical functionality of the membranes and their interactions with the permeating chemical species. With the advances in polymer chemistry and materials sciences, new membranes with improved properties can be designed for particular applications. Additionally, the use of membranes is growing in the area of catalysis and biocatalysis, where a suitable flow reactor can be constructed for continuous flow operations. Our research in functional materials and membrane science is directed towards understanding the chemistry, structure, and surface properties of polymeric and nanostructured materials & membranes, which controls the transport of solutes and solvents across the membranes. Based on this understanding we want to develop next-generation membranes, platforms, separators, electrodes, etc. for chemical separations at the water-energy nexus, energy generation and storage, catalysis, environmental remediation, and biocatalysis applications. Some of the current research areas are: