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Nanostructured Membranes for Enzyme Catalysis and Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles
Citation:
Smuleac, V., R. S. VARMA, B. Baruwati, S. Sikdar, AND D. Bhattacharyya. Nanostructured Membranes for Enzyme Catalysis and Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles. ChemSusChem. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, Germany, 4(12):1773-1777, (2011).
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Macroporous membranes functionalized with ionizable macromolecules provide promising applications in toxic metal capture at high capacity, nanoparticle synthesis, and catalysis. Our low-pressure membrane approach is marked by reaction and separation selectivity and their tunability by operating pH, ionic strength or pressure. The sustainable, green chemistry, approach using ambient conditions and the evaluation of reactive membranes comprising of poly acrylic acid (PAA)-modified poly vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane is described. Two distinct membrane types were obtained: 1) stacked-membrane with layer-by-layer assembly approach for incorporation of enzymes (catalase, glucose oxidase) for tunable product yields, and 2) in-situ, green synthesis of Fe/Pd nanoparticles for degradation of pollutants. The formation of bioreactor with nano-domain interactions and mixed matrix nano-composite membranes display remarkable versatility compared to conventional membranes.
