Water purification and desalination is a relatively new research topic in NMG, on which we collaborate with Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (Dr. Khaled Mahmoud) and Drexel Materials Electrochemistry Group (Prof. Ekaterina Pomerantseva). We study the behavior of MXene films as separation membranes. Micrometer-thick MXene membranes demonstrate ultrafast water flux and selectivity to salts depending on the ions’ size and charge.1 To better understand the health and environmental impacts of MXene, we also investigate the antibacterial properties of MXene in colloidal solution.2
Besides membrane separation, we work on different electrode materials (MXenes included) for capacitive deionization (CDI) systems, collaborating with Prof. Kumbur’s Lab (ECSL) at Drexel University. CDI is a popular research topic for the field of both water desalination and energy storage. CDI is a system which capacitive electrodes gather ions from flowing water, via application of potential difference. We have invented and patented a flow deionization process.
- C. E. Ren, K. B. Hatzell, M. Alhabeb, Z. Ling, K. A. Mahmoud, Y. Gogotsi, Charge and Size Selective Ion Sieving Through Ti3C2Tx MXene Membranes, JPC Letters, 6, 4026-4031(2015)
- K. Rasool, M. Helal, A. Ali, C.E. Ren, Y. Gogotsi, K. Mahmoud, Antibacterial Activity of Ti3C2Tx MXene, ASC Nano, (2016)
