Separation science and technology

The focus of this project is the demonstration and advancement of membrane-based separation and destruction technologies. The authors are exploring development of membrane systems for gas separations, selective metal ion recovery, and for separation or destruction of hazardous organics. They evaluated existing polymers and polymer formulations for recovery of toxic oxyanionic metals such as chromate and arsenate from selected waste streams and developed second-generation water-soluble polymeric systems for highly selective oxyanion removal and recovery. They optimized the simultaneous removal of radioactive strontium and cesium from aqueous solutions using the new nonhazardous separations agents, and developed recyclable, redox-active extractants that permitted recovery of the radioactive ions into a minimal waste volume. They produced hollow fibers and fabricated prototype hollow-fiber membrane modules for applications to gas separations and the liquid-liquid extraction and recovery of actinides and nuclear materials from process streams. They developed and fabricated cyclodextrin-based microporous materials that selectively absorb organic compounds in an aqueous environment; the resultant products gave pure water with organics at less than 0.05 parts per billion. They developed new, more efficient, membrane-based electrochemical reactors for use in organic destruction in process waste treatment. They addressed the need for advanced oxidation technologies based on molecular-level materials designs that selectively remove or destroy target species. They prepared and characterized surface-modified TiO{sub 2} thin films using different linking approaches to attach ruthenium photosensitizers, and they started the measurement of the photo-degradation products generated using surface modified TiO{sub 2} films in reaction with chlorophenol

Variations in the optical properties of poly(3-hexylthiophene)/C{sub 60} blends and poly(3-hexylthiophene)/sol-gel composites

We report the synthesis and characterization of thin films of poly(3- hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/C{sub 60} blends. UV-V is spectra of the P3HT/C{sub 60} blends with various amounts of C{sub 60} show significant blue shift, which indicates the complex formation between P3HT and C{sub 60}. A new type of luminescent glass was also prepared by sol-gel technique. This method allows incorporation of P3HT (photoemissive polymer) into the sol-gel matrix and results in glasses that feature stimulating photoluminescent properties. By slightly varying the synthetic conditions of fabricating these P3HT/sol-gel glasses, we can control their emission colors from blue to red, covering the whole visible spectrum

New fullerene-based mixed materials: Synthesis and characterization

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The authors present results of broadband femtosecond transient absorption and broadband nanosecond optical limiting studies of C{sub 60} and derivatized C{sub 60}. They have investigated both solutions and solid-state mixed materials (sol-gel glass hosts doped with fullerene guests). They show that derivatized fullerenes provide enhanced solubility and processability, with a ground-state absorption extended into the infrared compared with C{sub 60}. They have extensively studied both the dynamic optical response and the excited-state absorption cross sections of solutions and solids for multiple wavelengths in the visible to near infrared. Wavelength-dependent studies show that the optical limiting response improves monotonically at longer wavelengths, demonstrating broadband limiting in all 6,6 mono-adducts and neat C{sub 60}. The authors report new approaches to processing sol-gel glass/fullerene composites to improve the optical limiting performance of solid-state materials to approach the response of solution limiters