Characterising nanostructure functionality of conventional and advanced polymeric membranes using electrical impedance spectroscopy

This project aims to develop a method for detecting changes in the nano-architecture of thin film membranes used in liquid phase separation processes. It builds on recent advances in Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques that generate information on the electrical properties across the thin film in situ and in real time. These new techniques to generate and interpret EIS spectra will provide insight, at the nano-scale, into changes (such as engineered surface modifications or fouling) that impact the functionality and performance of polymeric membranes. This will lead to new instrumentation that can be used to improve the performance of industrially important membrane processes such as reverse osmosis and nano-filtration and provide researchers with a tool for rapid screening and characterisation of advanced separation processes such as forward osmosis (FO) and piezoelectric membranes (PEM).

Research team: Greg Leslie
                              Alice Antony
                              Yuan Wang

Collaborators: Emeritus Professor Hans Coster (The University of Sydney)
                           Dr. Terry Chilcott (The University of Sydney)

Funding body: ARC Discovery DP130103766

Publications:

  1. Yeo SY; Wang Y; Chilcott T; Antony A; Coster H; Leslie G, 2014, 'Characterising nanostructure functionality of a cellulose triacetate forward osmosis membrane using electrical impedance spectroscopy', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 467, pp. 292 - 302,http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2014.05.035 
  2. Hu Z; Antony A; Leslie G; Le-Clech P, 2014, 'Real-time monitoring of scale formation in reverse osmosis using electrical impedance spectroscopy', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 453, pp. 320 - 327,http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2013.11.014
  3. Antony A; Chilcott T; Coster H; Leslie G, 2013, 'In situ structural and functional characterization of reverse osmosis membranes using electrical impedance spectroscopy', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 425-426, pp. 89 - 97, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2012.09.028