(5e) Ionic Liquid-Based Materials for CO2 Capture and Polymer Engineering

Ionic liquids (ILs) are far more than non-volatile molten salts. ILs offer nearly infinite possibilities to create both liquid and solid materials not only for gas separations, but much broader chemical engineering and materials science applications. The ability to chemically "tune" the properties of ILs and related building blocks through chemical synthesis offers unprecented control over material performance and properties.

My ongoing research with ILs focuses on validating their use as industrially viable solvents for CO2 capture from flue gas and natural gas via reaction with amines. Additionally, I have explored their use in gas separation membranes, both in supported liquid membrane configurations and as monomers for fabricating poly(ionic liquid) and poly(ionic liquid)-ionic liquid composite membranes. Results to date and future directions will be discussed.