Thin Films & Nanomaterials

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Vanderbilt researchers have developed a specialized filter media to remove salt aerosols from the air. The filter media is able to be merged with other filter components to create a single filter for separating multiple types of airborne particles. Using the developed filter media provides more versatility and functionality to the manufacturing of filters for air and molecular purification products.

Vanderbilt researchers have synthesized porous adsorbent materials for the capture of toxic industrial chemicals. These adsorbent materials have finely dispersed reactive sites that allow for higher adsorption capacities than existing materials. They can be used in filters for the military, homeland security, first responders, and for a wide range of industrial and commercial catalysts to capture toxic gases such as ammonia and sulfur dioxide.

Phase change materials (PCMs) are a fascinating class of materials that can change certain material properties (e.g., absorbance or reflectivity) upon the application of a stimulus. Researchers at Vanderbilt University have used a PCM to create a novel metamaterial that can be reconfigured for use in a wide range of potential optical and integrated photonic applications from the infrared to terahertz spectral domain.