Chelation- directed interface engineering of in- place self- cleaning membranes

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Yang, Xiaobin; Li, Yangxue; Wu, Dan; Yan, Linlin; Guan, Jingzhu; Wen, Yajie; Bai, Yongping; Mamba, Bhekie B.; Darling, Seth B.; Shao, Lu
• 署名单位: Harbin Institute of Technology; Harbin Institute of Technology; University of South Africa; United States Department of Energy (DOE); Argonne National Laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE); Argonne National Laboratory; University of Chicago
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-12390
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2319390121
• 发表日期: 2024-03-12
• 关键词: water-purification; pressure

摘要

Water-energy sustainability will depend upon the rapid development of advanced pressure- driven separation membranes. Although energy- efficient, water- treatment membranes are constrained by ubiquitous fouling, which may be alleviated by engineering self- cleaning membrane interfaces. In this study, a metal- polyphenol network was designed to direct the armorization of catalytic nanofilms (ca. 18 nm) on inert polymeric membranes. The chelation- directed mineralized coating exhibits high polarity, superhydrophilicity, and ultralow adhesion to crude oil, enabling cyclable crude oil- in- water emulsion separation. The in- place flux recovery rate exceeded 99.9%, alleviating the need for traditional ex situ cleaning. The chelation- directed nanoarmored membrane exhibited 48- fold and 6.8- fold figures of merit for in- place self- cleaning regeneration compared to the control membrane and simple hydraulic cleaning, respectively. Precursor interaction mechanisms were identified by density functional theory calculations. Chelation- directed armorization offers promise for sustainable applications in catalysis, biomedicine, environmental remediation, and beyond.