Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Caijiao Yu, Xixi Cen, Zhengqing Zhang, Yuxiu Sun, Wenjuan Xue, Zhihua Qiao, Michael D. Guiver, Chongli Zhong
Summary: In this study, a new strategy of step-nucleation in situ self-repair was proposed to prepare large-area ultrathin and rollable MOF membranes on a flexible polymer membrane support. This strategy enables the practical implementation of large-area MOF membranes and has potential applications in gas separation.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuhao Liu, Lingmei Liu, Xu Chen, Yan Liu, Yu Han, Yong Cui
Summary: Highly ordered two-dimensional (2D) materials with in-plane nanopores are important for various applications, but their synthesis and characterization remain challenging. This study shows that ultrathin 2D MOF nanosheets with intrinsic porosity can be prepared by exfoliating layered MOFs. The nanosheets can be incorporated into polymer matrices to form mixed-matrix membranes, and their fluorescence can be quenched by chiral terpenes for chiral optical sensing applications.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yanwei Sun, Shen Hu, Jiahui Yan, Taotao Ji, Liangliang Liu, Mingming Wu, Xinwen Guo, Yi Liu
Summary: A highly efficient molecular sieve membrane for ethylene/ethane and flue gas separation has been developed through structure optimization strategy.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Yanqiu Zhang, Fan Yang, Hongguang Sun, Yongping Bai, Songwei Li, Lu Shao
Summary: This study constructed highly permeable nanoporous membranes using the versatile functions of glucose and dopamine, which demonstrated excellent performance and stability in desalination.
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Isabel Ciria-Ramos, Ines Tejedor, Lucia Caparros, Beatriz Donagueda, Oscar Lacruz, Ainhoa Urtizberea, Olivier Roubeau, Ignacio Gascon, Marta Haro
Summary: Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for next-generation batteries due to their high surface area, well-defined metal centers, and organic linkers. In this study, a Ni-3(HHTP)(2) MOF was synthesized at the air-liquid interface and used as an electrode in lithium batteries. The MOF film protected the copper collector from oxidation and exhibited improved coulombic efficiency with the inclusion of crystallization time. The use of Langmuir technique allows for the testing of MOF-based materials without the need for additives in the electrodes.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Prasad Sarma, Renjith Nadarajan, Ritesh Kumar, Riya Mol Patinharayil, Navya Biju, Sreevidya Narayanan, Guanhui Gao, Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, Madhu Thalakulam, Rajeev N. Kini, Abhishek K. Singh, Pulickel M. Ajayan, Manikoth M. Shaijumon
Summary: This study demonstrates the controllable growth of high-quality, ultra-thin triangular flakes of trigonal selenium, which opens up new possibilities for the application of elemental 2D crystals.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Qieyuan Gao, Dennis Bouwen, Shushan Yuan, Xiahui Gui, Yaowen Xing, Junfeng Zheng, Hongbin Ling, Qingjuan Zhu, Yue Wang, Stef Depuydt, Junwei Li, Alexander Volodine, Pengrui Jin, Bart Van der Bruggen
Summary: Resource recycling on the premise of saving energy is crucial in today's energy crisis and shortage of resources. This study developed a membrane with better solute transport properties to selectively remove solutes in textile wastewater, saving energy. The membrane was also found to have excellent robustness, anti-fouling, anti-bacterial properties, and stability in corrosive media, making it suitable for large-scale application.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Chi Cheng, Sathvik Ajay Iyengar, Rohit Karnik
Summary: This study investigates molecular transport in various organic liquids under subnanometre confinement using a chemically robust nanoporous graphene membrane. The results demonstrate that the nature of the solvent can modulate solute diffusion across graphene nanopores, leading to breakdown of continuum flow when pore size approaches the solvent's smallest molecular cross-section. The research highlights the potential of nanoporous graphene as a rich materials system for controlling subcontinuum flow and enabling new membranes for challenging separation needs.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shuai Shi, Xianglong Wen, Qinqin Sang, Shuai Yin, Kaili Wang, Jian Zhang, Min Hu, Huiming Yin, Jia He, Yi Ding
Summary: Designing catalyst layers with high proton conductivity in membrane electrode assemblies is crucial for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The use of an ultrathin Pt-decorated nanoporous gold catalyst layer has been shown to significantly improve proton conduction and achieve excellent power density in carbon-free electrodes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jiabiao Chen, Zhaochao Liu, Xinyue Dong, Zhansheng Gao, Yuxuan Lin, Yuyu He, Yingnan Duan, Tonghuai Cheng, Zhengyang Zhou, Huixia Fu, Feng Luo, Jinxiong Wu
Summary: Ultrathin Bi2SiO5 crystals grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) serve as excellent gate dielectric layers for 2D semiconductors, exhibiting high dielectric constant and large band gap. Vertically grown Bi2SiO5 can be easily transferred onto other substrates, facilitating ideal van der Waals integration with few-layer MoS2.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Li Feng, Guo-Qiang Li, Yu-Kun Li, Xiao-Ling Gu, Si-Yuan Hu, Yu-Chen Han, Yi-Fan Wang, Ji-Ci Zheng, Yu-Heng Deng, Chong-Qing Wan
Summary: A solid sodium electrolyte based on an ionic liquid and a metal-organic framework was obtained, and it showed fast ion conduction and high stability.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shiyu Zhang, Liang Shen, Hao Deng, Qinze Liu, Xinda You, Jinqiu Yuan, Zhongyi Jiang, Sui Zhang
Summary: This article provides an overview of ultrathin membranes and their fabrication techniques, as well as a discussion of different types of ultrathin membranes based on their structures. The interplays among structure, fabrication methods, and separation performances are highlighted. The performances and applications of current ultrathin membranes for representative separations are thoroughly analyzed and compared. Challenges in material design and structure construction are also addressed to facilitate the translation from scientific achievements to industrial productions.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zehai Xu, Yufan Zhang, Xu Zhang, Qin Meng, Yujie Zhu, Chong Shen, Yinghua Lu, Guoliang Zhang, Congjie Gao
Summary: The study presents a method to synthesize dual metal-coordinated ultrathin nanoporous graphene nanofilms by tailoring well-aligned nanocrystals as building blocks on heteroatom-doped GO nanosheets, which allows for the controlled structures of the membranes.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Changchun Fan, Zhenzhen Wan, Meiling Pan, Juan Hou, Yulin Shi, Wen Guo, Gang Wang, Shanglong Peng, Qun Jing, Long Chen
Summary: Exploring catalysts for photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (PE-HER) is essential in energy conversion. In this study, a new amorphous crystalline interface was constructed, which showed significant performance in PE-HER under visible-light irradiation.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jiahui Yan, Taotao Ji, Yanwei Sun, Shengyan Meng, Chen Wang, Yi Liu
Summary: Rational structural design and engineering of MOF membranes can lead to energy-efficient gas separation. However, fabricating highly oriented MOF membranes at room temperature remains challenging, and the density of defective sites needs to be deliberately tailored.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jiajian Xing, Haiguang Zhang, Gaoliang Wei, Lei Du, Shuo Chen, Hongtao Yu, Xie Quan
Summary: By incorporating molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) nanosheets and applying external electrical assistance, both the 2D channel and charge density of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) membranes were regulated to enhance water flux and salt rejection. The resulting rGO/MoS2 membranes exhibited expanded nanochannels, resulting in significantly increased water permeance. In addition, the high capacitance and negative potential of the membranes contributed to improved rejection rates for NaCl and Na2SO4 ions. This study provides new insights for the design of membranes with high water flux and salt rejection efficiency.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peike Cao, Xie Quan, Xiaowa Nie, Kun Zhao, Yanming Liu, Shuo Chen, Hongtao Yu, Jingguang G. G. Chen
Summary: The authors report a scalable cobalt single-site catalyst for hydrogen peroxide synthesis at industrial-relevant currents in acidic, neutral or alkaline electrolyte, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional anthraquinone technology.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jaleh Mansouri, Shiyang Huang, Anthony Agostino, Rhiannon P. Kuchel, Greg Leslie, Chuyang Y. Tang, Anthony G. Fane
Summary: Understanding the kinetics of interfacial polymerization (IP) reaction is crucial for tailoring the characteristics and performance of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. In this study, the kinetic behavior and film characteristics of polyamide (PA) film formation by IP reaction between M-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) were investigated using the absorbance spectroscopy (AS) method in real-time. The results showed that monomer concentration and reaction time significantly influenced the kinetics of the IP reaction. The study confirmed the potential of the AS method for predicting the characteristics and optimizing the conditions of IP to achieve customized RO and nanofiltration (NF) membranes.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jiarui Chen, Shanshan Xu, Chuyang Y. Tang, Binjie Hu, Begum Tokay, Tao He
Summary: Layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly is an important method for preparing nanofiltration (NF) membranes with tunable charge and pore size, high water permeability, and good anti-fouling properties. However, LBL NF membranes suffer from salinity instability in highly saline solutions. This review analyzes the physical and chemical principles of LBL assembly related to the salinity stability of LBL NF membranes, and proposes methods to improve their stability.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Zhihong Yan, Ying Huang, Siew-Chong Tan, Chuyang Y. Tang, Shu Yuen Hui
Summary: In this article, a self-adaptive-step-size incremental-resistance MPPT technique is proposed to extract maximum power from RED stacks. It is simple and easy to implement, and realizes a balance between fast dynamic responses and small oscillations at a steady state. Various tests are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed MPPT technique.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yaowen Hu, Fei Wang, Zhe Yang, Chuyang Y. Tang
Summary: Nanovoids in polyamide layers significantly influence the roughness structures and water permeance of thin film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes. This study investigates water transport behaviors in a polyamide layer with or without nanovoids through numerical simulations and also develops an analytical model to quantify the competition between substrate-induced unfavorable funnel effect and nanovoid-induced favorable multi-effects. The modeling results demonstrate that even tiny nanovoids can minimize water transport distance and enhance the membrane permeance by 1-2 orders of magnitude.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hai-Guang Zhang, Xie Quan, Lei Du, Gao-Liang Wei, Shuo Chen, Hong-Tao Yu, Ying-Chao Dong
Summary: Researchers propose an electropolarization strategy using vertically aligned reduced graphene oxide (VARGO) membrane to regulate interfacial hydrogen-bond and electrostatic interactions, achieving high water permeation and ion rejection performance.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Peng-Fei Sun, Pulak Sarkar, Eun-Tae Yun, Jeong Hoon Lee, Chuyang Y. Tang, Hee-Deung Park
Summary: Biofouling is a critical issue in membrane-based water treatment processes. A thin-film nanocomposite membrane with a multilayer structure consisting of an MXene/CNT interlayer and a CNT back layer was fabricated to mitigate biofouling. The CNT back layer possessed superior antibiofilm properties and effectively prevented bacteria from entering the porous substrate, resulting in excellent resistance to biofouling.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qilin Yu, Haohao Mao, Zhiqiang Zhao, Xie Quan, Yaobin Zhang
Summary: As a major driver of global methane production, methanogens are exposed to an environment filled with dynamic electromagnetic waves, which may induce electromotive force (EMF) to potentially influence methanogen metabolism. This study found that exposure to a dynamic magnetic field increased biogas production through induced EMF. The methane emissions from sediments increased by 41.71% when exposed to a dynamic magnetic field with an intensity of 0.20 to 0.40 mT. The EMF accelerated the respiration of methanogens and bacteria, leading to enhanced microbial metabolism.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Muhammad Irfan Ahmad, Shuo Chen, Hongtao Yu, Xie Quan
Summary: This study demonstrates the successful production of H2O2 by introducing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) into SnO2, which enhanced light absorption and reduced the energy band gap. Among different concentrations of rGO, 0.5wt% rGO-SnO2 showed the highest H2O2 yield. The findings provide valuable guidance for designing efficient photocatalysts for H2O2 generation.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zixiao Ren, Huicong Shi, Jie Zeng, Xu He, Guibai Li, Huu Hao Ngo, Jun Ma, Chuyang Y. Y. Tang, An Ding
Summary: Viruses in the effluent and on the membrane during UF processes pose hidden biosecurity risks to drinking water. Fe3+ coagulation combined with H2O2 creates an in situ membrane cleaning method, and MS2 bacteriophage was used to investigate virus removal in the presence of humic acid (HA). The study found that HA removed MS2 based on size exclusion, hydrophobicity, and electrostatic repulsion, while Fe3+ pretreatment eliminated MS2 by iron floc adsorption and size exclusion, and iron flocs-H2O2 cleaning completely eliminated MS2. The study provides a potentially useful and cost-saving membrane cleaning method for virus-containing water treatment.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chenyang Zheng, Di Xiao, Junfeng Zhang, Yabiao Pei, Lianqin Wang, Xin Liu, Yan Yin, Michael D. Guiver, Xianguo Li
Summary: The relationship between molecular conformation of anion exchange ionomers (AEIs) and catalyst layer (CL) parameters in anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) under dynamic operating conditions was studied. The meta-AEI showed a lower swelling ratio compared to para-AEI, resulting in higher water retention ability and improved CL stability.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Ke Jiang, Li Long, Lu Elfa Peng, Zhe Yang, Wenyu Liu, Dong-Myeong Shin, Chuyang Y. Tang
Summary: Polyamide structure and chemistry are crucial for the separation performance of thin-film composite nanofiltration membranes. By regulating reactive sites on monomers, the properties of polyamide and membrane performance can be precisely tailored, resulting in improved water permeance and solute selectivity. This study provides new insights into developing high-performance nanofiltration membranes.
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Li Wang, Meng Zhang, Yufei Shu, Qi Han, Beizhao Chen, Bei Liu, Zhongying Wang, Chuyang Y. Tang
Summary: This study presents a new approach for efficient and selective dye recovery from highly saline textile waters using Co-MOF nanosheet membranes. The membranes exhibit superior permeance and selectivity due to their precisely regulated in-plane pore sizes. The Co-MOF membranes have high selectivity for salts over dye and exhibit excellent pure water permeance and high rejection of dyes. The in-plane pores on the nanosheets are responsible for the remarkable permeability and selectivity of the membranes.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Shuting Xu, Jiahuan Liu, Jianqiang Wang, Haibo Lin, Qiu Han, Fu Liu, Chuyang Y. Tang
Summary: This study presents a new method for preparing polyamide nanofiltration membranes with high permeability and selectivity by introducing guanidil into the reaction. The membranes exhibited excellent water permeance and rejection of Na2SO4, as well as outstanding anion sieving capability and tetracycline removal. This convenient and scalable preparation strategy holds great application potential in desalination and resource recovery.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)