Please visit the following website for a more extensive introduction to our group’s research activity: 

https://sites.google.com/view/membrane-engineering-lab-cycu/home

Membranes are dense or porous polymeric, ceramic, metallic or composite interfaces which function is to separate solutes. Their development and the assessment of their performances require knowledge in multiple fields including materials science, environmental engineering, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, etc. depending also on the field of application. They have been around for many decades, yet fortunately, hold many secrets. I voluntarily used the word “fortunately” because these secrets justify the time and efforts put by numerous teams worldwide to engineer better membranes for more efficient processes and hopefully, a more sustainable environment.

Our team forming the Membrane Engineering Lab is trying to contribute to these efforts and this page aims to showcase our current themes of research. More particularly, the emphasis is put on the following aspects, all concerning polymeric or composite membranes:

1. Membrane formation mechanisms: we care for these mechanisms because they permit to control the structure of membranes upon which depend directly their span of applications.

2. The VIPS process, VIPS membranes and their applications: VIPS stands for Vapor-Induced Phase Separation. This process permits slow mass transfers. As such, it enables to achieve control of membrane structures. We look the wide yet poorly explored range of applications of these membranes.

3. The fabrication of antifouling membranes: as fouling, that is, the attachment of particles, proteins, cells, etc. is inevitable as a direct result of the membrane separation, we are designing materials and membranes that can resist irreversible fouling, in order to extend membrane lifetime and decrease overall process costs.

4. The development of green membranes: membrane separation is considered a green technology, but their formation is not green. We are now involved in the development of alternatives to currently existing strategies.

5. Membranes for advanced applications: We impart specific functional properties to some of our membranes. For instance, we are developing “killer membranes” that can kill bacteria during separation, catalytic membranes able to degrade solutes (such as antibiotics) during the separation, or smart membranes that can catch particular cells during blood filtration.