AREA 4- NANO-MATERIALS   

 

The Nano-Materials area focuses on developing nano-porous materials with the capability to adsorb, encapsulate, transport, store, or filter molecules for applications in chemical storage, chemical separation/filtration, sensors, and catalysis. Porous nano-materials have undergone a phenomenal evolution with the development of new tools to tailor design the molecular structure of the porous materials, to control the pore size, chemical makeup, and internal surface properties. The first project in this area focused on designing a renewable, safe, and versatile porous nano-materials for recyclability. The outcome of this project was the development of a biodegradable and edible "Organic Nano-Cube" porous material that has now advanced to the product commercialization stage. The other two projects are developing other porous materials for applications in catalysis and desalination. More than 10 patents have been filed for the synthesis and use of the various porous materials developed under these projects.