On March 18, HUST-NUS Academic Lecture Series was successfully held in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, HUST. At the invitation of Prof. Wang Yan of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering HUST, Zhang Sui, Assistant Professor of Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering of the National University of Singapore, gave an invited lecture on "Membranes with Engineered Transport Pathways for Liquid and Gas Separation". The lecture was hosted by Prof. Wang Yan, and more than 50 students and researchers from universities such as Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Nankai University and other domestic universities participated online.
Photo | Prof. Zhang Sui giving the lecture
In the lecture, Prof. Zhang Sui started with the major challenges exist in many membrane separation processes, namely, permeability-selectivity trade-off and fouling. Engineering membranes with controlled transport may provide viable solutions to the challenges, for example, via radical polymers at molecular scale, 2D materials at the nano-scale, and surface patterns at the micro- and macro-scales. In this lecture, Prof. Zhang Sui introduced some of her recent efforts from three perspectives: membranes synthesized based on radical polymers and interesting roles that radicals can play in solar desalination and gas separation; 2D materials which offer the opportunity to overcome the permeability-selectivity tradeoff through in-plane nanopores and inter-plane slits; biomimetic surface patterns which shows the potential to reduce membrane fouling in water treatment.
Photo | Prof. Zhang Sui explaining membrane separation technology
During the Q&A part, Prof. Zhang Sui exchanged ideas with the participants online and offline, and had a heated discussion on hot research issues such as membrane separation technology in the lecture. She also kindly answered questions raised by the audience, and expressed her appreciation for everyone's enthusiasm. This lecture was filled with strong academic atmosphere, and the Q&A part was relaxing and interesting, which fully mobilized the enthusiasm of scholars and students participating in the event, and also provided new research ideas and directions to them in the field of membranes.
