Award Address (ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science, sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company). Polymer-based materials for separations applications

This presentation will discuss several aspects of the use of polymers as rate-controlling membranes for gas and liquid separations applications. In particular, examples of materials which enable either high permeability and high selectivity for solubility selective (e.g., butane removal from natural gas) or diffusivity selective (e.g., carbon dioxide removal from natural gas) separations will be presented, and materials design heuristics will be inferred from the results of such studies. The effect of polymer structure on water and salt transport in materials considered for desalination or fouling-resistant coating applications will also be discussed. The solution-diffusion model is presented as a unifying theoretical platform to rationalize such data.