Current Position

Rooney Family Collegiate Chair of Engineering
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Education

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities
B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame

Research Interests

Chemical separations are essential to the production of fresh water and the generation of fuels. Traditionally, energy-intensive thermal processes have been used to effect these separations. Membrane separations, an alternative to thermally-driven separations, are gaining increased attention, because of their ability to avoid the thermodynamic limitations associated with heat use. Realizing the benefits of membranes relies on understanding and controlling the transport of chemical species across them. Recent advances in the characterization of materials at the nanoscale allow for correlations to be made between membrane nanostructure and chemistry and membrane macroscale transport properties. This link between nanoscale structure and macroscale properties allows for transport mechanisms to be more clearly elucidated, which in turn, enables the development of next-generation membranes that offer improved performance at lower energetic and environmental costs. The Water purification and Advanced Transport Engineering Research (WATER) Laboratory examines how membrane structure and chemistry affect the transport of solutes and solvents across a variety of membranes. Our understanding of the connection between functionality and property is used to design and fabricate next-generation membranes that provide more precise control over the transport of chemical species. These material advantages are then leveraged to design systems capable of enhancing chemical separations at the water-energy nexus.

Key Words

Battery Separators, Desalination, Diffusion and Mass Transfer, Energy Efficient Separations, Nanoporous Materials, Osmotically Driven Membrane Processes, Polymers, Self-Assembly, Ultrafiltration, Water Purification, Water Treatment

Relevant Energy Publications

1. Tu, Yu-Ming, Woochul Song, Tingwei Ren, Yue-xiao Shen, Ratul Chowdhury, Prasangi Rajapaksha, Tyler E. Culp et al. "Rapid fabrication of precise high-throughput filters from membrane protein nanosheets." Nature Materials 19, no. 3 (2020): 347-354.
2. Hoffman, John R., and William A. Phillip. "Dual-Functional Nanofiltration Membranes Exhibit Multifaceted Ion Rejection and Antifouling Performance." ACS applied materials & interfaces 12, no. 17 (2020): 19944-19954.
3. Dugas, Michael P., Graham Van Every, Bumjun Park, John R. Hoffman, Ryan J. LaRue, Aaron M. Bush, Yizhou Zhang, Jennifer L. Schaefer, David R. Latulippe, and William A. Phillip. "Resilient hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes fabricated from crosslinkable phase-separated copolymers." Molecular Systems Design & Engineering 5, no. 5 (2020): 943-953.
4. Caicedo‐Casso, Eduard, Jessica Sargent, Rachel M. Dorin, Ulrich B. Wiesner, William A. Phillip, Bryan W. Boudouris, and Kendra A. Erk. "A rheometry method to assess the evaporation‐induced mechanical strength development of polymer solutions used for membrane applications." Journal of Applied Polymer Science 136, no. 6 (2019): 47038.
5. Gao, Feng, Aaron Hunter, Siyi Qu, John R. Hoffman, Peng Gao, and William A. Phillip. "Interfacial Junctions Control Electrolyte Transport through Charge-Patterned Membranes." ACS nano 13, no. 7 (2019): 7655-7664.

Department Website
Group Website