Polymer membranes with exceptional performance and stability
Year
2019
Project team
Zachary Smith & Timothy Swager with Francesco Benedetti, Mason Wu, and Sharon Lin
![](https://deshpande.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Smith-Image-for-Deshpande-Project-aspect-ratio-580-360-580x360-c-default.jpg)
Membrane-based gas separations
The development of polymeric materials for commercial membrane-based gas separations has stagnated for a quarter of a century. This project is developing an approach to make processable polymers featuring a flexible backbone connected to tunable, rigid, pore-generating side chains. With record stabilities under aggressive feeds, these polymers are a promising platform of materials to replace current gas-separation membranes.
![](https://live-mit-deshpande.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Osmoses-Image-2.png)
Osmoses
Technology from this project spun out into a company, Osmoses.
![](https://live-mit-deshpande.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MIT-100k-2021-01-press_0.jpeg)
Startup improving chemical separations wins MIT $100K competition
Deshpande startup Osmoses says its filtration membranes can make gas and vapor separation much less energy-intensive across multiple industries.