We can now do much better than nature in synthesizing molecular sieves, varying chemical composition and porous structure for a particular separation or reaction. Interest in synthesizing molecular sieves as continuous films is fairly recent, he says. Many of those obstacles are related to uniformity on a microscopic level. An important prerequisite for any future development of molecular sieves is our ability to engineer methods which allow molecular sieves to be processed into thin films on appropriate 'foundations,' or substrates. He points to another photograph.
Black dots form a grid on a white background.
The dots, he explains, are the filter's openings. When the magnification is decreased, Tsapatsis points out breaks in the pattern. I'm looking at how to 'heal' those defects, and trying to find conditions under which the particles will grow to a perfectly-aligned, single crystal film. Established in 1988, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation awards 20 fellowships to young faculty members each year.