In Situ Ptychographic X-ray CT of Fully Hydrated Polyamide Membranes

This collaboration between KAUST and Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) developed a high‑resolution 3D imaging approach that allows water‑purification membranes to be examined directly in their hydrated state. Unlike traditional techniques that require vacuum conditions or sample modifications—which can distort delicate structures—this method captures the membrane’s true morphology in water. Using the approach led to observed substantial swelling and structural changes driven by artificial water channels, providing new insights that can guide the design of more efficient filtration materials.

This figure from the paper shows the whole workflow including ptychographic x-ray computed tomography (PXCT), reconstruction, segmentation, and analysis.

KVL's visualization scientist Ronell Sicat provided support in setting up the ptychographic and tomographic reconstruction workflows in the KAUST Ibex cluster. He also worked closely with the domain experts in pre-processing, segmentation, analysis, and visualization of the reconstructed 3D image stack data using Avizo software.