Center for Materials for Water and Energy Systems (M-WET)

Director

Benny Freeman

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Class

2018-2022

Mission

To discover and understand fundamental science to design new membrane materials, develop tools and knowledge to predict new materials’ interactions with targeted solutes from recalcitrant water sources, provide fit for purpose water, and recover valuable solutes with less energy.

Research Topics

catalysis (heterogeneous), charge transport, separations, membranes, water, mesoscale science, materials and chemistry by design, mesostructured materials, synthesis (novel materials), synthesis (self-assembly), synthesis (predictive)

Materials Studied

Materials: polymer, electrolytes, porous

Interfaces: organic/organic, gas/liquid, gas/solid, liquid/solid, solid/solid

Nanostructured Materials: None

Experimental and Theoretical Methods

X-ray diffraction and scattering, X-ray imaging, X-ray spectroscopy, electron microscopy, surface science, molecular dynamics (MD), density functional theory (DFT), dynamical mean field theory (DMFT), monte carlo (MC), finite element methods, continuum modeling, mesoscale modeling, multiscale modeling, machine learning, data science