Optimizing Desalination and Wastewater Treatment Systems with Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs)

The progress in the design of the components responsible for salt rejection, such as membranes, electrodes, or solar absorbers, are constrained by the limitations of the conventional materials from which these components are fabricated.

Recent breakthroughs in molecular design introduced by reticular materials, such as COFs, can potentially lead to the development of a new class of highly efficient materials for desalination and wastewater treatment.

To benefit from the properties of these materials, we are researching the molecular design of COFs and their successful fabrication into macroscopic components that could be efficiently used in desalination and wastewater treatment systems. We are particularly interested in understanding the influence of different characteristics of COFs on the performance of conventional desalination technologies.

Our research focuses on the challenge of transforming nanomaterials into macroscopic components that are suitable for implementation in current state-of-the-art desalination technologies that are mostly based on membranes, but also electrodes and solar absorbers.