Porous materials network EPoMM open

A new materials network supporting investigation into materials for renewable energy, separation processes, controlled release, carbon capture, catalysis, water purification, electronic materials and medicine has been launched by the University of Bath.

The Engineering Porous Materials at Multiple Scales (EPoMM) network, which opened in July, aims to join up research and industry in the design and understanding of new materials and understand how they can be applied in a range of important industry applications.

As the field of porous materials is incredibly diverse, including inorganic materials, organic polymers, synthetic frameworks, biological tissues, and composite systems, a combined expertise across multiple science and engineering disciplines and access to specialist characterisation facilities to study both pore sizes and phenomena that can span multiple length scales, is required.

Based at the University of Bath and led by Professor Chris Bowen, from the University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, the network will bring together experts for workshops, discussions and an annual conference, while engaging with businesses to advise on and tackle industrial challenges.

Prof Bowen said: “Porous materials are all around us – so there is a huge scope to make impacts by finding new approaches to developing new materials and looking for efficiencies or knowledge sharing around challenges in many different areas and in speeding up innovation.

“EPoMM exists to bring together people who wouldn’t normally meet – for example experts in smart materials and experts in gas storage. By doing that, we want to improve understanding around materials and problem solving that can be applied to work on a range of scales – from atomic, cell-level and molecular scales to large-scale settings that are used in the order or tonnes and larger.

“The impacts we are looking to make could be in the areas of catalysis and separation of chemicals, discovery and manufacture of drugs and renewable energy. Some of the things we will be looking at will include how a porous material could carry out the work of an energy-intensive water purification plant at a much lower energy cost.”

By the end of the period funding from the EPSRC Network Initiative period Prof Bowen envisages EPoMM established as a self-sustaining network of porous media experts who are able to work collaboratively to respond to industry needs. EPoMM will also be supported by Dr Alex O’Malley from the University’sDepartment of Chemistry.

This project is funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Network Initiative.

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