Yi-Cheng Liu1, Li-Hsien Yeh2, Min-Jie Zheng3, Kevin C-W Wu4. 1. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan. 2. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan. lhyeh@mail.ntust.edu.tw kevinwu@ntu.edu.tw. 3. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan. 4. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan. lhyeh@mail.ntust.edu.tw kevinwu@ntu.edu.tw.
Abstract
The electric organs of electric eels are able to convert ionic gradients into high-efficiency electricity because their electrocytes contain numerous "subnanoscale" protein ion channels that can achieve highly selective and ultrafast ion transport. Despite increasing awareness of blue energy production through nanochannel membranes, achieving high-performance energy output remains considerably unexplored. Here, we report on a heterogeneous subnanochannel membrane, consisting of a continuous UiO-66-NH2 metal-organic framework (MOF) and a highly ordered alumina nanochannel membrane. In the positively charged membrane, the angstrom-scale windows function as ionic filters for screening anions with different hydrated sizes. Driven by osmosis, the subnanochannel membrane can produce an exceptionally high Br-/NO3 - selectivity of ~1240, hence yielding an unprecedented power of up to 26.8 W/m2 under a 100-fold KBr gradient. Achieving ultrahigh selective and ultrafast osmotic transport in ion channel-mimetic MOF-based membranes opens previously unexplored avenues toward advanced separation technologies and energy-harvesting devices.
The electric organs of electric eels are able to convert ionic gradients into high-efficiency electricity because their electrocytes contain numerous "subnanoscale" protein ion channels that can achieve highly selective and ultrafast ion transport. Despite increasing awareness of blue energy production through nanochannel membranes, achieving high-performance energy output remains considerably unexplored. Here, we report on a heterogeneous subnanochannel membrane, consisting of a continuous UiO-66-NH2metal-organic framework (MOF) and a highly ordered alumina nanochannel membrane. In the positively charged membrane, the angstrom-scale windows function as ionic filters for screening anions with different hydrated sizes. Driven by osmosis, the subnanochannel membrane can produce an exceptionally high Br-/NO3 - selectivity of ~1240, hence yielding an unprecedented power of up to 26.8 W/m2 under a 100-fold KBr gradient. Achieving ultrahigh selective and ultrafast osmotic transport in ion channel-mimetic MOF-based membranes opens previously unexplored avenues toward advanced separation technologies and energy-harvesting devices.
Authors: Hien Thi Thu Pham; Jonghyeok Yun; So Yeun Kim; Sang A Han; Jung Ho Kim; Jong-Won Lee; Min-Sik Park Journal: Beilstein J Nanotechnol Date: 2022-07-21 Impact factor: 3.272