Optimization of Silica Nanocomposite Membranes for Air Dehumidification (open access)

Optimization of Silica Nanocomposite Membranes for Air Dehumidification

This thesis is focused on understanding the correct method to simulate atomistic models to calculate coefficient of diffusion of water through the membrane. It also aims to fix the method previously used in molecular modelling in which the simulation results did not match the experimental results. These membranes will be used in air dehumidification systems. The four types of membranes namely, polyurethane, polyurethane with silica nano particles, polyurethane with silica nano particles and amine surface modifier, and polyurethane with silica nano particles and aniline surface modifier. These membranes were also simulated to understand the effects of temperatures and pressure using molecular dynamics. The software packages used are MAPS 4.3, Avogadro, EMC, OVITO, and LAMMPS. MAPS, Avogadro and EMC were used to model the membrane at an atomistic level while LAMMPS is used to simulate the model generated. OVITO is used to analyze the simulation visually. The movement of water vapor molecules were tracked through the membrane in the simulation and diffusion coefficient was calculated using Mean square displacement equation. To create a realistic model, silica was dispersed in the Polyurethane matrix, simulated under standard atmospheric conditions. These results will help in further optimizing the membrane for air dehumidification. This will …
Date: May 2022
Creator: Appaji, Tejas
System: The UNT Digital Library