Pittcon 2025: Xiao Su Discusses Winning the Satinder Ahuja Award and Electrochemical Separations

Xiao Su, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, is the 2025 winner of the Satinder Ahuja Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science (1). Su’s work involves developing advanced materials for molecularly selective separations for several application areas, including environmental analysis (2).

On Sunday March 2^nd, Su delivered a talk during his award session titled, “Molecular Design of Redox-active Polymers for Selective Electrochemical Separations.” Su discussed his laboratory’s work on designing redox-active polymer electrosorbents for ion-selective separations (1). Using in-situ interfacial measurements and multiscale modeling, Su explained how his team investigated the mechanisms of ion selectivity, tracking solvation changes and redox-film swelling with neutron reflectometry (1). These insights applied to recover and purify critical elements (1).

Next, Su highlighted redox-copolymers engineered for the electrochemical capture and release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Su discussed how the design of these polymers balance hydrophobicity, electrostatics, and fluorophilicity to better optimize the removal of short-chain PFAS, which has become a significant environmental concern (1).

He also discussed how chirality can be introduced into redox polymers, enabling electrochemically mediated enantioselective separations for precise molecular recognition (1). Overall, his award session emphasized the broad applicability of electrochemical approaches in separation science and the versatility of redox polymers across various critical domains (1).

LCGC International sat down with Suto discuss what winning the Young Investigators in Separation Science Award means for him and his research. Su also passed along some advice for separation scientists and young professionals in this space.

“I would really encourage young separation scientists, students, and professionals to keep going at it,” Su said to LCGC International. “One thing that I would recommend is to try and explore a breadth of opportunities because I think the skills that you learn and that you’re good at can often apply to different applications.”

References

1. Pittcon, Molecular Design of Redox-active Polymers for Selective Electrochemical Separations. Lab Science Events. Available at: https://labscievents.pittcon.org/event/pittcon-2025/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMjQ5NTQwNg== (accessed 2025-03-04).
2. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Xiao Su. Illinois.edu. Available at: https://chbe.illinois.edu/people/profile/x2su (accessed 2025-03-04).