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Bioinspired Graphene Oxide Membranes with Dual Transport Mechanisms for Precise Molecular Separation
Author(s) -
Dou Haozhen,
Xu Mi,
Jiang Bin,
Wen Guobin,
Zhao Lei,
Wang Baoyu,
Yu Aiping,
Bai Zhengyu,
Sun Yongli,
Zhang Luhong,
Chen Zhongwei,
Jiang Zhongyi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201905229
Subject(s) - membrane , permeance , materials science , graphene , facilitated diffusion , ethylene oxide , oxide , ethylene , selectivity , gas separation , molecule , molecular dynamics , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , permeation , organic chemistry , chemistry , polymer , computational chemistry , copolymer , composite material , biochemistry , catalysis , engineering , metallurgy
The implementation of membrane technology to replace or combine with energy‐intensive cryogenic distillation for precise separation of ethylene/ethane mixture proves an extremely important yet highly challenging task. Inspired by the hierarchical structure and facilitated gas transport of biological membranes, a highly selective ethylene/ethane separation membrane is explored through the fixation of a silver ion carrier and the impregnation of ionic liquid within 2D nanochannels of graphene oxide laminate, where plenty of ethylene‐permeating in‐plane nano‐wrinkles and ethylene‐facilitated plane‐to‐plane nanochannels are constructed. By virtue of synergistic effects of molecular sieving and carrier‐facilitated transport, an unprecedented combination of high ethylene permeance (72.5 GPU) and superhigh ethylene/ethane selectivity (215) is achieved, out‐performing currently reported advanced membranes. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations verify a favorable membrane nanostructure for fast and selective transport of ethylene molecules. This bioinspired approach with dual transport mechanisms may open novel avenues to the design of high‐performance membranes for precise molecular separation.