About

Benny Freeman is a professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, holding the William J. (Bill) Murray, Jr. Endowed Chair in Engineering. His research explores the relationship between polymer structure, processing, and properties, with a focus on how polymer structure influences the solubility, diffusivity, and permeability of small molecules in polymers and polymer-based materials. Freeman's lab studies fundamental aspects of membranes for liquid, gas, and vapor separations, as well as applications in controlled drug delivery, barrier plastics for food and packaging, monomer and solvent removal from polymers, and the physical aging of glassy polymeric materials and membranes. His educational background includes a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from NC State University, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris, and additional studies at NC State University. Freeman has received numerous awards and honors, such as the Braskem Award for Excellence in Materials Engineering and Science in 2023, being named a fellow of the National Academy of Engineering in 2023, and the Billy & Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award at UT Austin for 2023-2024. His professional recognition also includes fellowships with the North American Membrane Society and the Society of Plastics Engineers, as well as awards from AIChE and ACS. He is actively involved in research centers including the Membrane Research Lab, the Center for Materials For Water and Energy Systems, and the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical engineering
• Materials science
• Organic chemistry
• Computer Science
• Metallurgy
• Environmental science
• Biochemical engineering
• Composite material
• Waste management

Selected publications

• Engineering Li/Na selectivity in 12-Crown-4–functionalized polymer membranes

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2021 · 179 citations

  • Materials science
  • Chemical engineering
  • Nanotechnology

  solubility due to binding with crown ethers. Under mixed salt conditions, 12-crown-4 functionalized membranes showed identical solubility selectivity relative to single salt conditions; however, the permeability and diffusivity selectivity of LiCl over NaCl decreased, presumably due to flux coupling. These results reveal insights for designing advanced membranes with solute-specific selectivity by utilizing host-guest interactions.

  DOI

• Designing Solute-Tailored Selectivity in Membranes: Perspectives for Water Reuse and Resource Recovery

  ACS Macro Letters · 2020 · 105 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Materials science
  • Nanotechnology

  Treatment of nontraditional source waters (e.g., produced water, municipal and industrial wastewaters, agricultural runoff) offers exciting opportunities to expand water and energy resources via water reuse and resource recovery. While conventional polymer membranes perform water/ion separations well, they do not provide solute-specific separation, a key component for these treatment opportunities. Herein, we discuss the selectivity limitations plaguing all conventional membranes, which include poor removal of small, neutral solutes and insufficient discrimination between ions of the same valence. Moreover, we present synthetic approaches for solute-tailored selectivity including the incorporation of single-digit nanopores and solute-selective ligands into membranes. Recent progress in these areas highlights the need for fundamental studies to rationally design membranes with selective moieties achieving desired separations.

  DOI

• Efficient metal ion sieving in rectifying subnanochannels enabled by metal–organic frameworks

  Nature Materials · 2020 · 533 citations

  • Materials science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Chemical engineering
  DOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Modified Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Forward and Pressure Retarded Osmosis

  NSF · $216k · 2012–2017

• Collaborative Research: A Polymer Synthesis/Membrane Characterization Program on Fouling-Resistant Membranes for Water Purification

  NSF · $181k · 2006–2009

• Fundamental Water and Ion Transport Properties in Polymers for Membrane Applications

  NSF · $307k · 2012–2017

• Collaborative Research: Reverse-Selective Membrane Materials for the Purification of Hydrogen and Other Light Gases

  NSF · $266k · 2005–2009

• Collaborative Research: A Polymer Synthesis/Membrane Characterization

  NSF · $175k · 2009–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Donald R. Paul

  150 shared

• Kazukiyo Nagai

  69 shared

• James E. McGrath

  67 shared

• Anita J. Hill

  CSIRO Manufacturing

  57 shared

• Haiqing Lin

  University at Buffalo, State University of New York

  40 shared

• Ho Bum Park

  Hanyang University

  40 shared

• Zachary P. Smith

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  37 shared

• V. P. Shantarovich

  Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics

  35 shared

Labs

• Membrane Research LabPI

Education

• B.S.

  NC State University

  1983

• Ph.D., Chemical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1988

• Other, Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Structurale et Macromoléculaire

  Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris

  1988

Awards & honors

• Braskem Award for Excellence in Materials Engineering and Sc…
• National Academy of Engineering fellow (2023)
• Billy & Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineerin…
• North American Membrane Society fellow (2017)
• Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Disruptive Separations – Co…

Similar researchers at University of Texas at Austin

• Carlos Caldash-218
• Thomas J. Hughesh-154
• George Georgiouh-107
• Keith Johnstonh-106
• Jeffrey Andrewsh-104