New polymeric materials under development in the NPM-Lab are being obtained by traditional polycondensation and different methods of controlled polymerization.
The synthesized materials include amphiphilic block copolymers designed to achieve ordered morphology in solution and as films with high water flux and/or with tailored functionality, able to operate as chemical gates, responding to stimuli or having exceptionally high selectivity for specific solutes like proteins, salts and small organic molecules.
The other class of synthesized polymers is multifunctionalized polyheterocycles with exceptional stability at high temperatures, harsh environments, organic solvent medium or with target functionalities for affinity separations.
Post-functionalization of polymers (bulk or surface) is a powerful tool in membrane science. In the NPM group this includes surface modification to control hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, crosslinking and incorporation of specific chemical groups.