Woochul Song

Abstract Synthetic polymer membranes, critical to diverse energy-efficient separations, are subject to permeability-selectivity trade-offs that decrease their overall efficacy. These trade-offs are due to structural variations (e.g., broad pore size distributions) in both nonporous membranes used for Angstrom-scale separations and porous membranes used for nano to micron-scale separations. Biological membranes utilize well-defined Angstrom-scale pores to provide exceptional transport properties

We have tested the ability of the OPLS–AA models (optimized potentials for liquid simulations) of alkanes and perfluoroalkanes recently developed by Jorgensen and co-workers to represent the unusual mixing behavior of alkane+perfluoroalkane systems. We find that these all-atom Lennard-Jones (6-12)+Coulomb representations, together with the usual Lorentz–Berthelot combining rules, fail to reproduce the weaker-than-anticipated interactions between these two classes of molecules. Systematic disagre

Data from prior simulation and experimental studies (a total of 52 solute/solvent pairs) are collected and analyzed in an attempt to relate the extent of local density augmentation in supercritical fluids to the strength of intermolecular interactions. For this purpose, intermolecular potential functions consisting of pairwise additive atom−atom potentials, with parameters either taken from literature sources or derived from quantum chemical calculations, are constructed and tested against exper

Cell membranes control mass, energy, and information flow to and from the cell. In the cell membrane a lipid bilayer serves as the barrier layer, with highly efficient molecular machines, membrane proteins, serving as the transport elements. In this way, highly specialized transport properties are achieved by these composite materials by segregating the matrix function from the transport function using different components. For example, cell membranes containing aquaporin proteins can transport

Due to their distinctive molecular architecture, ABA triblock copolymers will undergo specific self-assembly processes into various nanostructures upon introduction into a B-block selective solvent. Although much of the focus in ABA triblock copolymer self-assembly has been on equilibrium nanostructures, little attention has been paid to the guiding principles of nanostructure formation during non-equilibrium processing conditions. Here we report a universal and quantitative method for fabricati

Aquaporins (AQPs) are naturally occurring water channel proteins. They can facilitate water molecule translocation across cellular membranes with exceptional selectivity and high permeability that are unmatched in synthetic membrane systems. These unique properties of AQPs have led to their use as functional elements in membranes in recent years. However, the intricate nature of AQPs and concerns regarding their stability and processability have encouraged researchers to develop synthetic channe

Here, we report on a novel class of fluorofoldamer-based artificial water channels (AWCs) that combines excellent water transport rate and selectivity with structural simplicity and robustness. Produced by a facile one-pot copolymerization reaction under mild conditions, the best-performing channel (AWC <b>1</b>) is an n-C₈H₁₇-decorated foldamer nanotube with an average channel length of 2.8 nm and a pore diameter of 5.2 Å. AWC <b>1</b> demonstrates an ultrafast water condu

A molecular scale understanding of the fast and selective water transport in biological water channels, aquaporins (AQPs), has inspired attempts to mimic its performance in synthetic structures. These synthetic structures, referred to as artificial water channels (AWCs), present several advantages over AQPs in applications. After over a decade of efforts, the unique transport properties of AQPs have been reproduced in AWCs. Further, recent developments have shown that the performance of benchmar