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Porous metal frameworks offer potentially useful applications for the aerospace, automotive and bio-medical industries. They can be used as electrodes, actuators, or as selective membrane films. The versatility of the physical features (pore size, pore depth, overall porosity and pore surface coverage) as well as the large range of surface chemistries for both metal oxides and pure noble metals offers scope to functionalise metal nano-particles and networks of nano-porous metal structures. As well as traditional routes to producing metal structures, such as metal sintering or foaming, novel high-throughput techniques have recently been investigated. Nanoparticle self-assembly, metal ion reduction and deposition as well as metal alloy de-alloying were identified as sustainable routes to produce large surface areas of such nano-porous metal frameworks. The main limitations of the current fabrication techniques include the difficulty to process stable and homogeneous arrays of nano-scale pores and the control of their morphology due to the high reactivity of nano-structured metal structures. This paper aims at critically reviewing the various fabrication techniques and surface functionalization routes used to produce advanced functional porous metal frameworks. The limitations and advantages of the different fabrication techniques will be discussed in light of the final material properties and targeted applications. Keywordsporous metal frameworks; porous metal fabrication routes; metal surface chemistry; application of metal frameworks; 3

The incorporation of nanomaterials into a range of polymeric materials shows great potential for developing new active food packaging systems. Although there are many suggested benefits of nanoparticles (NPs) in food packaging, there are also potential risks due to the possibility of such particles migrating into foodstuffs. This has obvious implications for human health and it may also negatively impact on marketing and consumer confidence. This review focuses on 2 particular types of nanomaterials: nanoclays and nanosilver, with a view to examining the effects of these on system mechanical properties (nanoclays) and antimicrobial efficacy (nanosilver). It further reports on the various migration studies, techniques for characterization, and measurement of NPs as well as the potential migration of NPs from packaging into foodstuffs. Assessment of the literature to date suggests there is an urgent need for further research in order to devise better NP detection methods and to determine the likelihood of their migration from packaging materials into foodstuffs.

Please cite this article as: Myat, D.T., Stewart, M.B., Mergen, M., Zhao, O., Orbell, J.D., Gray, S., Experimental and Computational investigations of the Interactions between model organic compounds and subsequent membrane fouling, Water Research (2013Research ( ), doi: 10.1016Research ( /j.watres.2013 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. The formation of aggregates of sodium alginate and bovine serum albumin (BSA) (as 13 representative biopolymers) with humic acid were detected by Liquid Chromatography (LC) 14 UV 254 response in the biopolymer region for mixture solutions. BSA interaction with humic 15 acid showed that aggregation occurred both in the presence and absence of calcium, 16 suggesting that multivalent ions did not play a part in the aggregation process. Similar 17 analyses of the alginate interaction with humic acid also showed a positive interaction, but 18 only in the presence of calcium ions. The fouling characteristics for the BSA-humic acid 19 mixture appeared to be significantly greater than the fouling characteristics of the individual 20 solutions, while for the sodium alginate-humic acid mixture, the fouling rate was similar to 21 that of the sodium alginate alone. The effectiveness of hydraulic backwashing, 10-15% 22 reversibility, was observed for the BSA-humic acid mixture, while the % reversibility was 23 20-40% for the sodium alginate-humic acid mixture. Increased humic acid and DOC 24 rejection were observed for both BSA-humic acid and sodium alginate-humic acid solutions 25 compared to the individual solutions, indicating that the biopolymer filter cakes were able to 26 M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT2 retain humic acids. When compared with BSA-humic acid mixture solution, greater removal 27 of humic acid was observed for alginate-humic mixture, suggesting that sodium alginate may 28 have a greater capacity for associations with humic acid when in the presence of calcium than 29 BSA. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations were designed to provide insights into 30 the specific mechanisms of interaction between BSA and humic acid, as well as between 31 alginate and humic acid. For the BSA-humic acid system; electrostatic, hydrophobic and 32 hydrogen bonding were the dominant types of interactions predicted, whilst divalent ion-33 mediated bonding was not identified in the simulations, which supported the LC-results. 34Similarly for the alginate-humic acid system, the interactions predicted were divalent ion-35 mediated interactions only and this was also supported the LC results. This work suggests 36 that LC-UV 254 might be used to ...

17The binding of sodium and calcium ions to single and multiple poly-G decamer strands has

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Thin-film composite membranes, primarily based on poly(amide) (PA) semipermeable materials, are nowadays the dominant technology used in pressure driven water desalination systems. Despite offering superior water permeation and salt selectivity, their surface properties, such as their charge and roughness, cannot be extensively tuned due to the intrinsic fabrication process of the membranes by interfacial polymerization. The alteration of these properties would lead to a better control of the materials surface zeta potential, which is critical to finely tune selectivity and enhance the membrane materials stability when exposed to complex industrial waste streams. Low pressure plasma was employed to introduce amine functionalities onto the PA surface of commercially available thin-film composite (TFC) membranes. Morphological changes after plasma polymerization were analyzed by SEM and AFM, and average surface roughness decreased by 29%. Amine enrichment provided isoelectric point changes from pH 3.7 to 5.2 for 5 to 15 min of plasma polymerization time. Synchrotron FTIR mappings of the amine-modified surface indicated the addition of a discrete 60 nm film to the PA layer. Furthermore, metal affinity was confirmed by the enhanced binding of silver to the modified surface, supported by an increased antimicrobial functionality with demonstrable elimination of E. coli growth. Essential salt rejection was shown minimally compromised for faster polymerization processes. Plasma polymerization is therefore a viable route to producing functional amine enriched thin-film composite PA membrane surfaces.