Metal-coordinated sub-10 nm membranes for water purification.
Nat Commun
; 10(1): 4160, 2019 Sep 13.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31519877
ABSTRACT
Ultrathin membranes with potentially high permeability are urgently demanded in water purification. However, their facile, controllable fabrication remains a grand challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a metal-coordinated approach towards defect-free and robust membranes with sub-10 nm thickness. Phytic acid, a natural strong electron donor, is assembled with metal ion-based electron acceptors to fabricate metal-organophosphate membranes (MOPMs) in aqueous solution. Metal ions with higher binding energy or ionization potential such as Fe3+ and Zr4+ can generate defect-free structure while MOPM-Fe3+ with superhydrophilicity is preferred. The membrane thickness is minimized to 8 nm by varying the ligand concentration and the pore structure of MOPM-Fe3+ is regulated by varying the Fe3+ content. The membrane with optimized MOPM-Fe3+ composition exhibits prominent water permeance (109.8 L m-2 h-1 bar-1) with dye rejections above 95% and superior stability. This strong-coordination assembly may enlighten the development of ultrathin high-performance membranes.
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Nat Commun
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
/
CIENCIA
Year:
2019
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China