The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 26, 2025
Filed:
Oct. 30, 2019
University of Notre Dame Du Lac, South Bend, IN (US);
Purdue Research Foundation, West Lafayette, IN (US);
Yizhou Zhang, South Bend, IN (US);
William A. Phillip, South Bend, IN (US);
Matthew J. Webber, South Bend, IN (US);
Bryan W. Boudouris, West Lafayette, IN (US);
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC, South Bend, IN (US);
PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION, West Lafayette, IN (US);
Abstract
A highly permeable sorbent platform based on polysulfone and polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) composite membranes. The membranes possess a fully interconnected network of poly(acrylic acid)-lined pores, which enables the surface chemistry to be tailored through sequential attachment of polyethyleneimine moieties and metal-binding terpyridine ligands. The polyethyleneimine moieties increase the saturation capacity, while the addition of terpyridine enables high-affinity binding to a diversity of transition metal ions. This membrane platform removes such metal contaminants from solution. The metal capture performance of the functionalized membranes persists even in high concentrations of competitive ions. Also, fluorescence quenching of the terpyridine moiety upon metal ion complexation offers an in-situ probe to monitor the extent of sorbent saturation. The permeability, capacity, and affinity of these membranes, with high-density display of a metal-binding ligand, offer a chemically tailored platform to address the challenges that arise in ensuring clean water.