title: Reversible assembly of tunable nanoporous materials from "hairy" silica nanoparticles.
abstract: Membranes with 1-100 nm nanopores are widely used in water purification and in biotechnology, but are prone to blockage and fouling. Reversibly assembled nanoporous membranes may be advantageous due to recyclability, cleaning, and retentate recovery, as well as the ability to tune the pore size. We report the preparation and characterization of size-selective nanoporous membranes with controlled thickness, area, and pore size via reversible assembly of polymer brush-grafted ("hairy") silica nanoparticles. We describe membranes reversibly assembled from silica particles grafted with (1) polymer brushes carrying acidic and basic groups, and (2) polymer brushes carrying neutral groups. The former are stable in most organic solvents and easily disassemble in water, whereas the latter are water-stable and disassemble in organic solvents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Utah , Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khabibullin
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fullwood
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kolbay
authors.forename: Ilya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zharov
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D000468:Alkalies / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D058608:Nanopores / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D014462:Ultrafiltration
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D000468:Alkalies; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate; D006046:Gold; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: membrane; nanoporous; polymer-grafted particles; reversible assembly; ultrafiltration