| Abstract Scope |
Humanity currently faces global threats ranging from climate change and infectious diseases to the need for renewable, clean energy. To address these challenges, this presentation focuses on functionalized elastomers that are water-activated. We first developed "hybrid integrated" carbon-capture membranes by modifying the surfaces of inexpensive high-flux polymer substrates via surface polymerization, followed by targeted amination, to yield a hydro/CO2-philic "nanosponge" layer capable of record-breaking separation performance. We also discovered a game-changing polymer design for fast-acting, self-sterilizing antimicrobial surfaces. Our broad-spectrum antimicrobial approach utilizes a water-activated anionic thermoplastic elastomer to pump protons to the polymer surface, yielding a highly acidic water contact layer that kills >99.9999% of all bacteria, viruses and fungi tested after ~5 minutes or less. Moreover, upon hydration, the same anionic elastomer can replace Nafion in bipolar electrolyzers to reach water dissociation levels near the thermodynamic limit and provide viable routes to green hydrogen and atmospheric/oceanic CO2 capture. |