This project proposes a theoretical study to develop a bottom up model of gas adsorption and transport in such thin liquid films. This proposal will be performed at LIPHY, joint department between CNRS/University Grenoble Alpes. In collaboration with experimentalists in the host department where experiments are carried out to study small molecule permeability through surfactant-stabilized films, state-of-the-art molecular simulations will be carried out to
- design realistic molecular models of such films,
- investigate gas adsorption at the membrane surface and solubility inside the film,
- probe diffusivity/transport to identify possible surface barriers.
Statistical mechanics and transport models will be used to upscale these data and predict the thermodynamics and long term kinetics of gas filtration using such films. This interdisciplinary project, between chemistry and physics, aims at designing a novel strategy to tackle a great industrial challenge: filter and separate light gases. While this project is theoretical, strong connection to an experimental group very active in the field could lead to a paradigm shift by establishing the fundamental aspects for gas separation using surfactant-stabilized liquid thin films. Multiscale theoretical strategies, combining Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, and free energy techniques, etc. will be used to understand this challenging problem.
