Are you passionate about sustainable materials and eager to contribute to cutting-edge climate technology? In this internship, you will work on the development of advanced ion-exchange membranes that play a key role in capturing CO₂ directly from the air. You will gain hands-on experience in polymer chemistry, explore green solvent alternatives, and contribute to making membrane production safer and more sustainable. This is a unique opportunity to combine experimental work with innovative modeling approaches while contributing to real-world impact in carbon capture and clean technology.

Objective:
The aim of this internship is to determine the optimal conditions for coating high-performance ion-exchange membranes, with a focus on identifying a suitable green, non-CMR solvent for polymer dissolution and optimizing polymer loading and solution viscosity to achieve uniform and reproducible membranes.

Background
The CO₂ CLEANUP process is a continuous Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology that captures CO₂ from ambient air and releases it as pure CO₂ for reuse or storage. The process is fully electrochemical and relies on Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes (EDBM).

In parallel, we develop ion-exchange membranes in-house for these processes, including CEM, AEM, and BPM. Promising polymer systems have already been identified. The next step is to gain a systematic understanding of solvent systems and solution properties to enable reliable and scalable membrane casting.

Membrane performance strongly depends on solvent choice, polymer concentration, and solution viscosity. These factors must be optimized to ensure stable polymer dissolution, controlled film formation, and consistent membrane quality.

This project focuses on identifying and evaluating sustainable, non-CMR solvents for safe and scalable membrane production.

Tasks:

·        Evaluate a range of green and non-CMR solvents for polymer solubility.

·        Assess solvent stability and suitability for membrane casting.

·        Determine the optimal polymer loading (% w/w) for membrane casting.

·        Measure and adjust solution viscosity to achieve uniform and reproducible films.

·        Evaluate membrane quality (uniformity, handling properties, and reproducibility).

·        Apply Hansen Solubility Parameters modeling to predict polymer–solvent compatibility and guide the selection of optimal solvent/non-solvent systems.

Expected Outcome:

·        Identification of green solvents for stable polymer dissolution and membrane casting.

·        Determination of optimal polymer loading and viscosity for reproducible membranes.

·        Documented protocols suitable for further development and scale-up.

·        Guidance from Hansen Solubility Parameter modeling for solvent selection.

Skills to be Developed:

·        Polymer solution preparation and viscosity control.

·        Membrane casting and film evaluation.

·        Solvent assessment with a focus on green chemistry.

·        Experimental planning, data analysis, and reproducibility.

·        Interest in polymer chemistry, membranes, and sustainable materials.

·        Understanding of solvent–polymer interactions.

·        Independent, analytical, and detail-oriented in the lab.

·        Curious about theoretical modeling and computational approaches for material design.

·        Available for a minimum 4-month internship, preferably 8 months.