Principal Investigator Paula Hammond
Project Website http://web.mit.edu/hammond/lab/nasim.htm
The unique and tunable properties of carbon-based nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and grapheme and their composites (with polymer) can be optimized for high-flux membranes for desalination and renewable energy technologies such as electrode materials for dye-sensitized solar cell and ultracapacitor energy storage devices.
For the fabrication of such devices, the method of layer-by-layer self-assembly of oppositely charged nanoparticles, nanotubes (functionalized) and polymers will be employed. This method allows fabricating nanoporous films with controlled thicknesses in the range of a few hundred nanometers to several micrometers suitable for the applications. The film structures and their properties will be analyzed along with the performances of the devices, so that conclusions with respect to the relevant structure-property relationships could be drawn.