De Novo Design of Covalent Organic Framework Membranes toward Ultrafast Anion Transport

Xueyi He; Yi Yang; Hong Wu; Guangwei He; Zhongxing Xu; Yan Kong; Li Cao; Benbing Shi; Zhenjie Zhang; Chasen Tongsh; Kui Jiao; Kongying Zhu; Zhongyi Jiang

doi:10.1002/adma.202001284

De Novo Design of Covalent Organic Framework Membranes toward Ultrafast Anion Transport

Adv Mater. 2020 Sep;32(36):e2001284. doi: 10.1002/adma.202001284. Epub 2020 Jul 26.

Authors

Xueyi He^{1

2}, Yi Yang³, Hong Wu^{1

2}, Guangwei He^{1

2}, Zhongxing Xu^{1

2}, Yan Kong^{1

2}, Li Cao^{1

2}, Benbing Shi^{1

2}, Zhenjie Zhang³, Chasen Tongsh⁴, Kui Jiao⁴, Kongying Zhu⁵, Zhongyi Jiang^{1

2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
² Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.
³ College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
⁵ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Test Center, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
⁶ Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University, Binhai New City, Fuzhou, 350207, China.

PMID: 32715516
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202001284

Abstract

The emergence of all-organic frameworks is of fundamental significance, and designing such structures for anion conduction holds great promise in energy conversion and storage applications. Herein, inspired by the efficient anion transport within organisms, a de novo design of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) toward ultrafast anion transport is demonstrated. A phase-transfer polymerization process is developed to acquire dense and ordered alignment of quaternary ammonium-functionalized side chains along the channels within the frameworks. The resultant self-standing COFs membranes exhibit one of the highest hydroxide conductivities (212 mS cm^-1 at 80 °C) among the reported anion exchange membranes. Meanwhile, it is found that shorter, more hydrophilic side chains are favorable for anion conduction. The present work highlights the prospects of all-organic framework materials as the platform building blocks in designing ion exchange membranes and ion sieving membranes.

Keywords: anion transport; covalent organic framework membranes; de novo design; phase-transfer polymerization; side-chain engineering.

Abstract

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