Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful technique for the elucidation of polymer segmental dynamics and molecular transport in soft matter, even in commercial water purification membranes, which typically exhibit severe chemical and physical heterogeneity. Next generation polymers for water/chemical separations or fuel cells require there to be tools capable of measuring the network dynamics and molecular transport under working conditions, so that one can properly understand the physics behind their functionality. Since polymer and molecular dynamics dictate the functionality of many next-generation materials, new and innovative NMR methods, particularly relaxation-, exchange-, and pulse-field gradient (PFG)-based experiments, new to be established to keep pace with their development.

 

key words

Solid-state NMR; Membranes; Water purification; Polymer dynamics; Molecular transport; Pulsed field gradient; Polymer films;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants