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Tailoring A Poly(ether sulfone) Bipolar Membrane: Osmotic‐Energy Generator with High Power Density
Author(s) -
Sun Yue,
Dong Tiandu,
Lu Chunxin,
Xin Weiwen,
Yang Linsen,
Liu Pei,
Qian Yongchao,
Zhao Yuanyuan,
Kong XiangYu,
Wen Liping,
Jiang Lei
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202006320
Subject(s) - membrane , osmotic power , power density , ether , chemical engineering , chemistry , materials science , sulfone , polymer , polymer chemistry , chromatography , organic chemistry , power (physics) , reverse osmosis , thermodynamics , forward osmosis , biochemistry , physics , engineering
Osmotic energy, obtained through different concentrations of salt solutions, is recognized as a form of a sustainable energy source. In the past years, membranes derived from asymmetric aromatic compounds have attracted attention because of their low cost and high performance in osmotic energy conversion. The membrane formation process, charging state, functional groups, membrane thickness, and the ion‐exchange capacity of the membrane could affect the power generation performance. Among asymmetric membranes, a bipolar membrane could largely promote the ion transport. Here, two polymers with the same poly(ether sulfone) main chain but opposite charges were synthesized to prepare bipolar membranes by a nonsolvent‐induced phase separation (NIPS) and spin‐coating (SC) method. The maximum power density of the bipolar membrane reaches about 6.2 W m −2 under a 50‐fold salinity gradient, and this result can serve as a reference for the design of bipolar membranes for osmotic energy conversion systems.