Ultra-Permeable Dual-Mechanism-Driven Graphene Oxide Framework Membranes for Precision Ion Separations

Jing Guo; Yanqiu Zhang; Fan Yang; Bhekie B Mamba; Jun Ma; Lu Shao; Shaomin Liu

doi:10.1002/anie.202302931

Ultra-Permeable Dual-Mechanism-Driven Graphene Oxide Framework Membranes for Precision Ion Separations

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Jun 5;62(23):e202302931. doi: 10.1002/anie.202302931. Epub 2023 Apr 27.

Authors

Jing Guo¹, Yanqiu Zhang^{1

2}, Fan Yang¹, Bhekie B Mamba³, Jun Ma², Lu Shao¹, Shaomin Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (SKLUWRE), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (SKLUWRE), School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
³ Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, College of Engineering, Science and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus, 1709, Roodepoort, South Africa.
⁴ WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.

PMID: 37015013
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202302931

Abstract

Two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) membranes are gaining popularity as a promising means to address global water scarcity. However, current GO membranes fail to sufficiently exclude angstrom-sized ions from solution. Herein, a de novo "posterior" interfacial polymerization (p-IP) strategy is reported to construct a tailor-made polyamide (PA) network in situ in an ultrathin GO membrane to strengthen size exclusion while imparting a positively charged membrane surface to repel metal ions. The electrostatic repulsion toward metal ions, coupled with the reinforced size exclusion, synergistically drives the high-efficiency metal ion separation through the synthesized positively charged GO framework (PC-GOF) membrane. This dual-mechanism-driven PC-GOF membrane exhibits superior metal ion rejection, anti-fouling ability, good operational stability, and ultra-high permeance (five times that of pristine GO membranes), enabling a sound step towards a sustainable water-energy-food nexus.

Keywords: Graphene; Membranes; Positively Charged Surface; Water Treatment; “Posterior” Interfacial Polymerization.

Abstract

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