This three-year award in support of U.S.-Spain collaborative research in molecular simulations of nanomembranes involves Sohail Murad at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Eduardo Enciso at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. They will use computer simulations to study reverse osmosis in gaseous and liquid solutions. The goal of the research will lead to a better understanding of reverse osmosis at the molecular level, that will ultimately aid in the design of more efficient nanomembranes.
The US investigator brings to this collaboration expertise in the methodology of molecular dynamics of fluids confined by semi-permeable membranes. This is complemented by the Spanish experience in the transition from the hydrodynamic regime to the microscopic regime. The project will be cooperative in that simulation and theory will be carried out at both laboratories, and their independent molecular dynamics studies will be reviewed jointly to determine the need for further simulations and new areas for development.
