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Soft, slippery surfaces have gained increasing attention due to their wide range of potential applications, for example in self-cleaning, anti-fouling, liquid collection, and more. One design approach in creating slippery surfaces is using a swollen elastomer, which is a polymer network swollen with a lubricant. This type of surface may be beneficial for longer-term use than standard lubricant-infused surfaces, and provides a versatile surface with tunable mechanical properties. Hence, understanding the physics of soft surface interactions is important for fundamental soft matter physics, biomaterials, adhesives, and coatings. This research experimentally investigates wetting on soft infused networks, with the aim of providing insight towards a physical description of wetting on a low-modulus, swollen elastomer. In principle, when a water drop is deposited on a soft surface, the surface tension of water can pull up the surface and form a wetting ridge at the drop periphery. However, when the soft material surfaces are also swollen with a fluid, the imbibed fluid may separate from the surface at the drop periphery to minimize the elastic energy that is caused by network stretching. Although significant efforts have been put into understanding the wetting ridge formation on soft crosslinked solids, as well as designing slippery, lubricant-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), there is limited knowledge on soft and swollen surfaces. We bridge soft crosslinked solids and SLIPS by studying how infusing a soft crosslinked network with lubricant affects drop interactions, with a focus on low modulus elastomers (e.g. ~100 kPa or less). Specifically, by using silicone oil–swollen polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers, we investigate situations of both static and dynamic wetting. My research is mainly divided into two integrated sections, briefly described below. In the first part of this work, we present an approach to visualize a crosslinked network and its swelling fluid separately by employing fluorescent molecules and confocal microscopy. We can vividly see the PDMS network and the oil phases separately at the contact line. We systematically investigate how the degrees of crosslinking and swelling affect fluid separation and network deformation during wetting on swollen networks. The degree of swelling is varied from 𝑄=1 (dry) to saturation (maximum swelling) for four different degrees of crosslinking. Upon swelling the network to lower swelling ratios, the height of the wetting ridge increases due to the decreased modulus from swelling. As the degree of swelling increases further however, fluid clearly separates from the network. By continuing to increase the degree of swelling towards saturation, the amount of fluid separation increases. Qualitatively, the general trend of an initially increasing wetting ridge height followed by fluid separation is universal, regardless of the degree of crosslinking. Our experiments reveal that the static wetting ridge of a soft and swollen network can comprise both a region of network pullup and a region of pure fluid; this suggests that the swelling fluid, commonly found in soft networks, can play a critical role on surface wetting properties. In the second part, we transfer our focus from static wetting to dynamic wetting conditions to investigate the slippery properties of soft, swollen elastomers. In the dynamic wetting state, we study how the polymer network density and degree of swelling related to the pinning force and friction of a water drop. We first study when a water drop sticks or slides on a vertical, silicone oil–swollen PDMS elastomer, where gravity drives the drop to slide down while surface interactions promote drop sticking. Hence, a critical drop volume exists directly when gravity overcomes drop-surface adhesion forces. We find that the critical water drop volume for sliding decreases when increasing the degree of swelling, nearly independently from crosslinking for very soft elastomers. This is likely associated with oil separating from the bulk substrate when it encounters a water drop, lubricating the surface and decreasing the pinning force. Additionally, we develop a cantilever-based approach to measure lateral friction forces between drops and soft surfaces, while observing the water-elastomer contact line with confocal microscopy. Results show the friction force decreases when increasing the degree of swelling, which is a function of velocity. In summary, the results demonstrate the importance of considering the fluid inside of gels when investigating wetting of soft surfaces, offering fundamental insight into soft wetting, and into the slippery properties of soft, oil-swollen elastomers., © 2023 Zhuoyun Cai

The applications of computational materials science are ever-increasing, connecting fields far beyond traditional subfields in materials science. This dissertation demonstrates the broad scope of multi-scale computational techniques by investigating multiple unrelated complex material systems, namely scandate thermionic cathodes and the metallic foam component of micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shielding. Sc-containing "scandate" cathodes have been widely reported to exhibit superior properties compared to previous thermionic cathodes; however, knowledge of their precise operating mechanism remains elusive. Here, quantum mechanical calculations were utilized to map the phase space of stable, highly-faceted and chemically-complex W nanoparticles, accounting for both finite temperature and chemical environment. The precise processing conditions required to form the characteristic W nanoparticle observed experimentally were then distilled. Metallic foams, a central component of MMOD shielding, also represent a highly-complex materials system, albeit at a far higher length scale than W nanoparticles. The non-periodic, randomly-oriented constituent ligaments of metallic foams and similar materials create a significant variability in properties that is generally difficult to model. Rather than homogenizing the material such that its unique characteristic structural features are neglected, here, a stochastic modeling approach is applied that integrates complex geometric structure and utilizes continuum calculations to predict the resulting probabilistic distributions of elastic properties. Though different in many aspects, scandate cathodes and metallic foams are united by complexity that is impractical, even dangerous, to ignore and well-suited to exploration with multi-scale computational methods., © 2023 Mujan N. Seif

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used to provide energy and power in portable electronics, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. The LIB market has grown dramatically as they have a combination of high energy density, high power density, proven reliability, and long cycle life. The manufacturing process is one of the key factors as it strongly affects the cost and performance of LIBs. This dissertation is focused firstly on the development of a conventional slurry-based electrode manufacturing process. Slurry making is a critical step that affects the subsequent steps in battery manufacturing. In this work, we have investigated the effects of the two main industry-used mixing sequences on the rheological behavior of the slurry, and the relation of the slurry rheology to structural, mechanical, and electrochemical performance of LiNi0.33Mn0.33Co0.33O2 (NMC) electrodes. We show that (1) mixing carbon black (CB) with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) solution before adding NMC can facilitate the formation of a gel-like slurry and form porous clusters of CB and PVDF; (2) dry powder mixing of CB and NMC can facilitate the binding of the CB to the NMC surfaces, reducing the amount of CB in the PVDF and resulting in a liquid-like slurry; (3) after drying of the liquid-like slurry, a dense CB/PVDF layer can form on the NMC surfaces, which can provide high binding strength but may block ionic transport and weaken the electronic connection, reducing the C-rate capability. Secondly, the effects of the molecular weight of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder on the electrochemical performance and mechanical integrity of the NMC electrodes made by a dry-powder-coating process were investigated. The microstructure, binding strength, and electrochemical behavior of the electrodes made with two types of PVDF polymers were compared. We show that a thin PVDF layer can form on the NMC particle surface after heating the PVDF to above its melting point. The microstructure and porosity of the PVDF layer depend strongly on the molecular weight of the PVDFs. With increasing molecular weight, the PVDF layer becomes more porous, improving the high-rate capacity without decreasing binding strength and long-term cycling performance of the electrodes. Thirdly, the influence of using low toxic dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent on the manufacturing of NMC electrodes was investigated. By using viscosity and electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), we show that the toxic N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent may be replaced by DMSO without altering the conventional LIB manufacturing process. Fourthly, the influence of using DMSO as a solvent on the manufacturing of Ni-rich electrodes was investigated. By using rheological and electrochemical measurements, peel tests, SEM, and XPS, we show that LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NMC 811) slurries made using the DMSO solvent can have similar shear thinning behavior, viscosity, and wettability as those made using the conventional toxic solvent. The peel strength and electrochemical behavior of the electrodes made using the two solvents are also similar., © 2022 Ming Wang

The exact surface configuration of scandate cathodes has been a point of contention for the materials community for a long time. Without proper understanding of it and the related structures and emission mechanisms, scandate cathodes remain patchy and unreliable emitters. Thus, density functional theory techniques were applied to various potential surface arrangements and found that there are several low-energy surfaces with low work functions that incorporate a scandium interlayer between tungsten and oxygen or otherwise have a scandium-on-tungsten structure. Furthermore, it was discovered that adding a monolayer of scandium directly to a tungsten surface is surprisingly favorable, thermodynamically. While none of the test surfaces match the properties or compositions of real scandate cathode surfaces, they shine a light on the previously-unexplored phenomenon of this scandium monolayer effect which runs counter to commonly-understood metallurgical principles., © 2022 Shankar Miller-Murthy

The Toyota Production System (TPS), also known as Lean Manufacturing (LM), was founded in the automotive industry and has contributed to Toyota’s decades of success. This has brought much attention to TPS and how this system may be implemented in other industries. Focusing on the TPS foundational element of standardization, this study examines the impact of target cycle time (TCT) on process fluctuation in a fast-food environment. In order to observe the effects of TCT, team members within 3 production lines were timed. Times were measured before and after the addition of a TCT to the Standardized Work (STW) in place. It was found that fluctuation was reduced by an overall average of 9 seconds per process after the addition of TCT to STW, suggesting that the addition of a TCT to STW may reduce process fluctuation within the production line. Additionally, the relationship between standardization and the flexibility of the standardized system within the restaurant was examined in dynamic market conditions, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. When sales percentage change in 2019 were compared to 2020 and a local competitor, the restaurant showed an overall increase. This growth may suggest a relationship between standardization and system flexibility., © 2022 Kevin McCracken

Limited coal coking operations and the use of coal-tar pitch as a binding agent in the production of metallurgical anodes has led to a limited availability of coal tar pitch for carbon fiber products. This has sparked interest in utilizing non-metallurgical coal-based liquids as an alternative to traditional coal tar from metcoke operations. This can be achieved by low severity solvent extraction, with heavy aromatic solvents, to produce coal liquids that act as precursor to pitch-based carbon fiber. This thesis aims to establish the processing and determine the impact of utilizing coal liquids to produce carbon fiber. In this work the yield (wt.%) from coal liquids to carbon fibers is directly compared to the yield from the solvent (without coal) to carbon fibers. Results indicated that the yield (wt.%) for coal liquid derived from a FCC decant oil-coal slurry and creosote-coal slurry to isotropic pitch was nearly four and nine times greater than the yield to isotropic pitch from decant oil and creosote without coal, respectively. The carbon yield (wt.%) from green fiber to carbon fiber was similar for creosote-coal slurry-derived fibers (70.9%) and creosote-derived fibers (66.1%)., © 2022 Cierra Danielle Crowe

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are a class of multicomponent alloys based on an innovative alloying strategy that employs multi-principle elements in relatively high concentrations. Commonly defined as alloys that contain at least five principal elements, each with a concentration between 5 and 35 at %. The term entropy refers to the excess configurational entropy associated with HEAs, which is thought to facilitate the formation of solid solutions. The design strategy results in vast compositional space for exploration and innovative potential triggering a renaissance in physical metallurgy. These alloys may have favorable properties compared to conventional dilute solid solutions, but their preeminent complexity and relative novelty mean that they are difficult to design and explore. Numerous studies in this field have explored and developed these alloys motivated by the primary HEA concept, which postulates that maximum configurational entropy can be achieved through equiatomic ratios, which, in turn, will stabilize single-phase solid solutions. However, a growing number of studies have shown that entropic stabilization alone is insufficient, and the optimal balance may be found in non-equiatomic mixtures. The primary objective of this work is to develop and evaluate single-phase non-equiatomic HEAs with unique compositions that will improve fundamental understanding and/or raise new questions and challenges. The findings in this work address multiple aspects of HEA development, focusing on methodology, discovery, and physical properties. For the first part of this work, the association between the thermal history and the resultant phases and microstructures is investigated for the equiatomic CrMnFeCoNiCu system. Motivated by the natural phenomena of crystal growth and conditions of equilibrium, we introduced a method that is applicable to HEA development, where controlled processing conditions decide the most probable and stable composition. This is demonstrated by cooling an equiatomic CrMnFeCoNiCu from the melt within 3 days. This results in large Cr-rich precipitates and almost a Cr-free matrix with compositions within the MnFeCoNiCu system. From this juncture, it is argued that the most stable composition is within the MnFeCoNiCu system and not within the CrMnFeCoNi system. With further optimization and evaluation, a unique non-equiatomic alloy, Mn17Fe21Co24Ni24Cu14 is derived. The alloy solidifies and recrystallizes into single-phase FCC phase and can be used in fundamental studies that contrast the equiatomic counterpart. The second part of this work utilizes a thin-film combinatorial approach to develop a compositional and structural library for the OsRuWCo alloy system. A total of 24 unique compositions were produced, representing a structural library in which amorphous hexagonal closed-pack structures hexagonal closed-pack structures and single phase hexagonal close-pack (HCP) structures are identified. From a selected film composition, a new high-entropy bulk alloy with OsRuWCo in nonequiatomic portions was synthesized. The alloy exhibited a single-phase HCP structure in the as-cast state. Three derivatives from this system were also produced considering heats of mixing, atomic size, and binary solubility. These derivatives are OsRuWCoIr, OsRuWCoFe, and OsRuWCoMoRe and all exhibit single-phase HCP as-cast structures, based on x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. Additionally, this large compositional space was utilized to evaluate conventional parameters that describe high-entropy alloys. Trends illustrating the evolution from amorphous to crystalline phases are discussed. A further part of this work evaluates the strengthening due to grain size reduction for the newly developed Mn17Fe21Co24Ni24Cu14. Tensile tests were performed on samples with microstructure with grain size ranging from ~7 um to 120 µm. The study addresses a significant challenge in HEA research in which the available sample size in laboratory settings hinders mechanical testing and evaluation of HEAs in tension. This is overcome by developing a furnace casting method that produces ingots large enough to produce multiple tensile specimens. The alloy exhibits excellent strengthening tendencies with an increase in yield stress based on square root scaling taking the form and the form with an unconstrained scaling exponent. Furthermore, the strengthening phenomena and the physical interpretation of the observed strengthening in HEAs are evaluated with discussions aimed at answering the fundamental question: “Do HEAs exhibit exceptional size effects?”, © 2022 Artashes Ter-Isahakyan

Carbon fiber is an ideal material for structural applications requiring high strength and stiffness and low weight. Yet it has seen only incremental improvements in properties over the last few decades. Carbon fibers remain limited in attaining their theoretical tensile strength and modulus, largely due to defects in their structure, some of which stem from the fiber production process itself. Through the mitigation of defect formation as well as approaches to decrease fiber linear density, it is hypothesized that carbon fiber with enhanced specific properties, including specific strength and modulus, could be produced which would significantly propel its unique capabilities. One approach to produce high specific property carbon fibers is the development of hollow carbon fibers. The development of hollow carbon fibers for use in structural applications has not been widely explored. The most successful methods to date rely on multicomponent spinning with sacrificial polymers and complex spinneret geometries. A more simplistic, scalable, and economical approach is the use of a segmented arc - shaped spinneret. Traditionally, segmented arc spinnerets have been used for melt or dry spinning hollow fibers. To the author���s knowledge, only three references exist describing its use in a solution spinning process for the production of hollow fiber precursors from polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The development of structural hollow carbon fibers from such precursors represents a new technology requiring extensive research in the development of the hollow fiber precursors, as well as their subsequent oxidation and carbonization. In this work, a method for the multifilament spinning of hollow PAN fibers using a segmented arc spinneret is described. This includes the coagulation, washing, drawing, and spooling of PAN hollow fiber and the effect of each on hollow fiber formation, structure, and properties. In particular, the impact of the coagulation bath composition is explored. Here, the resultant hollow fibers approached the specific tensile performance of traditional solid precursors. Utilizing these continuous tows of multifilament PAN hollow fibers, oxidation studies were undertaken to determine the capability of the hollow filaments, aided by oxidation from the interior, to oxidize at an increased rate compared to traditional solid fibers. The impact of open interior volume as a percent of the total fiber volume on oxidation was studied. In addition, the mechanisms behind the development of a skin-core structure in the hollow fiber wall are explored and mitigation methods proposed. The final part of the work focuses on the carbonization of oxidized hollow fibers. The structural parameters of hollow carbon fibers are compared to commercially available solid carbon fibers, with their resulting specific tensile properties compared. A direct comparison is made between hollow fibers and solid fibers with similar outer diameter with regard to their oxidation, carbonization, and resulting morphology and tensile performance. Finally, recommendations are made for continued improvement of the precursor, oxidized, and carbonized hollow filaments to achieve smaller precursor dimensions, faster oxidation rates, less skin-core formation, and higher specific tensile properties., �� 2021 Elizabeth Ashley Morris

The study of nanoporous materials has become a key aspect of nanotechnology due to their high surface-area-to-volume ratio, arising from the small size ligaments and pores that form the structure. Sensing, catalysis, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), medical applications, and materials for radiation environments are some of the applications for which nanoporous materials are considered great candidates. This work, performed at the Ion Beam Laboratory (IBL) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), examines the effect of heavy and light ion irradiation exposure on nanoporous Au. Radiation damage accumulation is observed with real-time recording of the creation, migration, and removal of the radiation-induced defects within the nanoporous framework. Promising results of nanoporous gold to radiation tolerance have emerged, underscoring the need to explore the synthesis of nanoporous refractory metals. For this purpose, niobium was selected as one such element, primarily due to its low neutron absorption cross-section and high-temperature stability that renders it a candidate structural material in fusion energy systems. A novel technique, named Vacuum Thermal Dealloying (VTD), is introduced for refractory metals since conventional dealloying is problematic for highly chemically active elements that are prone to oxidation. An analytical investigation of this unique dealloying technique has occurred with real-time recording through in-situ TEM annealing experiments under various heating conditions in order to optimize the final nanoporous structure. Finally, elemental and morphological characterization of the nanoscale volume were performed using 3D electron tomography, providing essential information about the interconnected porosity of two nanostructured samples: 1. Nanoporous Niobium and 2. Multilayered Nanoporous Tantalum / Dense Tantalum., © 2021 Maria Kosimidou

Organic metal halide perovskites are promising materials for various optoelectronic device applications such as light emitting diodes (LED) and photovoltaic (PV) cells. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have shown dramatic increases in power conversion efficiency over the previous ten years, far exceeding the rate of improvement of all other PV technologies. PSCs have attracted significant attention due to their strong absorbance throughout the visible region, high charge carrier mobilities, color tunability, and ability to make ultralight weight devices. However, organic metal halide perovskites still face several challenges. For example, their environmental stability issue must be overcome to enable widespread commercialization. Meeting this challenge involves material and interface development and optimization throughout the whole PV device stack. Fundamental understanding of the optical properties, electrical properties, interfacial energetics, and device physics is key to overcome current challenges with PSCs. In this dissertation, we report a new family of triarylaminoethynyl silane molecules as hole transport layers (HTLs), which are in part used to investigate how the PV performance depends on the ionization energy (IE) of the HTL and provide a new and versatile HTL material platform. We find that triarylaminoethynyl silane HTLs show comparable PV performance to the state-of-the art HTLs and demonstrate that different processing conditions can influence the IE of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3). Surface ligand treatment provides a promising approach to passivate defect states and improve the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), charge-carrier mobilities, material and device stability, and performance of PSCs. Numerous surface treatments have been applied to perovskite films and shown to passivate defect states and improve the PLQY and performance of PSCs, but it is not clear which surface ligands bind to the surface and to what extent. As surface ligands have the potential to passivate defect states, alter interface energetics, and manipulate material and device stability, it is important to understand how different functional groups interact with the surfaces of perovskite films. We investigate a series of ligand binding groups and systematically probe the stability of the bound surface ligands, how they influence energetics, PLQYs, film stability, and PV device performance. We further explore ligand penetration and whether surface ligands prefer to remain on the surface or penetrate into the perovskite. Three variations of tail groups including aryl groups with varying extents of fluorination, bulky groups of varying size, and linear alkyl groups of varying length are examined to probe ligand penetration and the impact on material stability., © 2020 So Min Park

Titania (titanium dioxide) is a metal oxide which has recently been investigated as a photocatalyst, most commonly for use in hydrolysis, which absorbs mostly in the UV range. However, the range of absorption can be shifted to fall within the visible light range either by doping or by functionalizing the surface with atomic or molecular adsorbates. Over the course of this research, a series of Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations are performed to ascertain the effects of these different methods on the photocatalytic performance of titania. While the effects of nitrogen doping and oxygen vacancies are well known, more recent studies point to hydrogen doping as a possible improvement to drive photocatalytic reactions, which will be investigated here. Surface chemistry with metal oxides is commonly affected by surface coverage by hydroxyl groups. The effects of different explicit coverages and implicit solvation were attained separately. All surfaces were found to be favorably solvated with varying coverage being most stable for each crystallographic surface. Various molecules were adsorbed to titania surfaces to determine their interactions in realistic environments. These include: polydopamine for thin film composite membranes, poly-acrylic acid (PAA) for its possible use in a one-step filtration-catalysis membrane, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) for its use in organic solar cells, the flavonoid quercetin for therapeutic use, and aminopropylsilane as a means of carbon capture. Hydrogen doping was found to affect light absorption to a similar degree as does nitrogen doping for an equivalent molar concentration. With a more favorable energy of formation and the ability to reduce titania, hydrogen doping may be able to overtake nitrogen doping as a means to improve the visible light photoactivity of titania. PAA was found to alter its steric length when electrons were added or removed from the structure, in much the same way as it does when changing pH in solution, suggesting PAA can be used to create one-step filtration-catalysis membranes in conjunction with titania. Four different attachment geometries of PAA to the two main crystallographic surfaces were tested, most of which were favorable (-0.5 to -2 eV), suggesting a robust catalog of stable structure. Dopamine had two different adsorption geometries tested with four different proposed monomers for polydopamine. Monomers were found to absorb favorably to rutile with adsorption energies of around -1 eV and unfavorably to anatase at +1 eV. P3HT, used in dye synthesized solar cells, was found to adsorb unfavorably through the sulfur, suggesting the pi bonding investigated in previous research is the correct mechanism. Quercetin, a therapeutic flavonoid with functional groups similar to dopamine, attained a similar conformation, but may need a larger super to confirm the results. Finally, aminopropylsilane, used in the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, was the only one of the molecules tested here to prefer a monodentate adsorption mechanism over the bidentate bridging mechanism as was the case with the previous molecules. In addition to the work done with titania, work was done on ruthenium dioxide to see if the rules which had been found for titania also applied to other metal oxide. This included investigating the effects of hydroxyl coverage and atoms/molecule interactions with nanoparticle surfaces. One reaction of interest was that of a mechanism whereby atomic mercury from coal power plant emissions is passed through a ruthenium dioxide catalyst with hydrogen halides, producing mercury chloride or mercury bromide., Copyright © Evan Hyde 2020

Novel metallic thin film composite membranes are synthesized and evaluated in this work for improved separations and catalysis capabilities. Advances in technology that allow for improved membrane performance in solvent separations are desirable for low molecular weight organic separation applications such as those in pharmaceutical industries. Additionally, the introduction of catalytic materials into membrane systems allow for optimization of complex processes in a single step. By adding a nanostructured metallic thin film to its surface, a polymer membrane may be modified to exhibit these improved properties. Using magnetron sputtering, thin metal films may be deposited on commercially available membranes to modify separations properties. Alloy films may then be deposited onto the membrane surface and dealloyed to produce a porous structure with a small feature size for catalysis. Multiple composites were studied in this research. Metallic thin film composites (MTFCs) of 10 nm Ta films deposited on top of commercially available ultrafiltration polysulfone (UF PSf) membranes were fabricated and characterized to study the film’s effect on effective pore size of the membrane. A significant water flux drop from the UF PSf (168 LMH/bar) to the resulting MTFC (8.8 LMH/bar) was found. Effective pore size was studied using rejection experiments with molecules of known sizes as markers. The UF PSf rejected about 90% of the 70 kDa while all smaller molecules were rejected minimally. The MTFC, however, rejected down to 5 kDa dextran indicating a reduction in effective pore size through the addition of 10 nm of Ta. Further experiments with IPA and water indicated that the structure was stable in this solvent. Two different alloy systems were studied as precursors to nanoporous films for further catalysis. Both were Fe/Pd (80/20 at. %) and Mg/Pd (75/25 at.%) precursors were used to produce nanoporous Pd. In all cases the alloy films were anchored to the membrane substrate with a thin Ta film, then dealloyed to produce a nanoporous metal thin film composite (npMTFC). In both cases the npMTFC was produced to catalyze a dechlorination reaction using hydrogen gas. Chlorinated organic compounds were the target compound for this system, as they are a persistent pollutant. Fe/Pd alloy films were dealloyed using a solution of 25% sulfuric acid to etch away the iron and generate porosity. The Fe/Pd npMTFCs were then tested for both batch mode dechlorination and permeation testing with a model COC, chlorobiphenyl (PCB-1). Permeation of a 5 ppm solution of PCB-1 through a similar membrane degraded 28% of PCB-1 from solution with a single pass under H2 pressurization. For the Mg/Pd precursor system only water was needed in order to etch magnesium, preserving the pore structure of the underlying UF PSf substrate with little deformation from dealloying. Under convective flow, the membrane removed over 70% of PCB-1 from solution with a single pass at 4 bar H2 pressurization. Successful fabrication of a novel composite membrane type has been demonstrated with applications for improved separations in solvents and in catalysis. The catalytic applications here may be easily modified for a variety of reactions., Copyright © Michael J. Detisch 2020