Article
Engineering, Chemical
Rita Carapito, Sandra C. Bernardo, Matheus M. Pereira, Marcia C. Neves, Mara G. Freire, Fani Sousa
Summary: Nucleic acids, especially RNA, have been explored as potential biopharmaceuticals for gene therapy. However, their labile nature poses challenges in their production and purification. This study investigates the use of chromatographic silica-based supports functionalized with ionic liquids for RNA purification. The results show promising potential for the development of a more efficient and safer method for RNA isolation.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Baoying Wang, Junying Yan, Huangying Wang, Ruirui Li, Rong Fu, Chenxiao Jiang, Victor Nikonenko, Natalia Pismenskaya, Yaoming Wang, Tongwen Xu
Summary: A mechanically stable ionic liquid-based pore-filling anion-exchange membrane was fabricated by impregnating porous polytetrafluoroethylene with ionic liquid. It exhibited excellent transport performance for large-sized metallic anions, with a higher flux and lower area resistance compared to commercial membranes.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yingyi Hu, Luyao Xu, Wangqing Zhang, Hong Wang
Summary: We report a synthetic procedure for scalable and controllable fabrication of covalently crosslinked poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) nanoporous membranes (CPILMs) in water solution under ambient conditions. By choosing the structure of PIL, diketone, and aldehyde, the pore sizes, flexibility, and compositions of CPILMs can be finely tailored. The formation mechanism involves hydrogen bonding-induced phase separation and Debus Radsizewski reaction-triggered ambient covalent crosslinking, resulting in a stable three-dimensional interconnected pore system. The structurally stable CPILMs exhibit excellent Li+/Mg2+ separation efficiency, making them a commercially interesting strategy for making useful nanoporous functional polyelectrolyte membranes.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jing Yang, Hao-Nan Li, Xian Zhang, Cheng-Ye Zhu, Hao-Hao Yu, Zhi-Kang Xu
Summary: The Janus membranes constructed by single-side modification of PVDF membrane provide rapid mass transfer separation of viscous ILs and deemulsification function for IL-in-water emulsions. These membranes exhibit high permeation speed, stable flux, and excellent IL recovery capacity during long-term cyclic separation processes.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Weng Fu, Julius Motuzas, David Wang, Christelle Yacou, Anne Julbe, James Vaughan, Joao C. Diniz da Costa
Summary: A novel membrane macropore storage mechanism induces fast salt crystallization in mesoporous top-layers, providing ideal conditions for crystal nucleation and growth during membrane pervaporation. This technology could potentially be considered for unlocking and processing strategic global minerals from brines.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Juan Antonio Ocana-Gonzalez, Noemi Aranda-Merino, Juan Luis Perez-Bernal, Maria Ramos-Payan
Summary: Liquid phase microextraction (LPME) and electromembrane microextraction (EME) are two popular techniques in sample treatment, both utilizing membrane-assisted extraction. Solid supports in the form of supported liquid membranes (SLMs) play a critical role in enhancing extraction reproducibility. Various SLMs have been successfully employed in different application fields, allowing the extraction of compounds with diverse natures. The development of environmentally friendly materials and solvents has also been a focus in recent years.
JOURNAL OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jiaying Zhu, Jinjie Wang, Hui Zhong, Yue Hu, Liqun Hu, Pinhua Rao, Rui Liu, Jun Zhu, Guanghui Li
Summary: A novel and simple method using fluorescence probes for measuring the pore size and pore size distribution of filtration membranes in aqueous applications is demonstrated. The method shows good accuracy and reproducibility, making it particularly suitable for rapid testing of conventional membranes in laboratory settings.
Article
Polymer Science
Xinxiu Cao, Ruiyuan Wang, Qi Peng, Hongwei Zhao, Hui Fan, Huan Liu, Qingquan Liu
Summary: By comparing two conjugated microporous polymers based on Carbazole and Ferrocene units, it was found that materials with more mesoporous structures have better adsorption capacities for larger adsorbates and the dye molecules in micropores are harder to desorb.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xi Cheng, Dan Hua, Feifei Cui, Yiping Hong, Zhuo Fan Gao, Junyang Pan, Xiaoman Wen, Zhaomei Huo, Guowu Zhan
Summary: Thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes with FeMeIm/PA/PMIA structure were successfully fabricated by one-pot interfacial reactions. The TFN membranes exhibited high permeability and selectivity in organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN), owing to the well-encapsulated Fe-MeIm nanofillers in the ultrathin polyamide (PA) selective layer. The effects of reagent concentrations and ratios during the interfacial reactions were also investigated.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jia Pang, Hongbin Wang, Caiyan Zhang, Weidong Fan, Yang Feng, Liting Yu, Lili Fan, Rongming Wang, Zixi Kang, Daofeng Sun
Summary: By introducing an ionic liquid (IL) into the interfacial polymerization process of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC), high-quality thin-film composite (TFC) membranes have been produced for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN). The beta-CD-IL-TMC TFC membranes exhibit upgraded crosslinking, continuity, stability, and OSN separation performance compared to traditional ss-CD-TMC TFC membranes.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Esther E. Jaekel, Steven Kluge, Steffen Troeger-Mueller, Murat Tutus, Svitlana Filonenko
Summary: This study investigates the gas permeation behavior of glucose and ionic liquid additives in cellulose nanocrystal-based membranes. The choice of plasticizer and CNC source allows for tunability from impermeable to permeable membranes. The contributions of the matrix and additive are analyzed by comparing to chitosan membranes.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Esther E. Jaekel, Steven Kluge, Steffen Troeger-Mueller, Murat Tutus, Svitlana Filonenko
Summary: This study explores the possibilities of using glucose and ionic liquids as additives to achieve various applications of cellulose nanocrystal-based membranes. The gas permeation behavior and selectivity of the membranes can be controlled by the choice of plasticizer and CNC source. The results highlight the diversity and tunability of bio-derived functional materials.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wang Yu, Lianglei Liu, Fenfang Li, Zhijian Tan
Summary: In this study, beta-cyclodextrin-based PILs were synthesized and blended with PVDF to prepare PILMs for the selective separation of amino acid mixtures. Factors influencing the separation results were investigated, leading to a maximum selectivity of 55% under optimal conditions achieved through one-step separation. These PILMs show potential for separating various amino acid mixtures with advantages of good selectivity, low operating pressure, larger water flux, and reusability.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Huihui Zhang, Xudong Wang, Lei Wang, Yongtao Lv, Ziwei Zhang, Hanwen Wang
Summary: Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube (f-MWCNT) mixed matrix forward osmosis (FO) membranes with 0.5% f-MWCNTs exhibited enhanced performance, and the compactness of the fouling layer of sodium alginate (SA) depended on the hydration repulsion of salt ions in solutions with different ionic strengths.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Mari Takenaka, Hiroki Nagasawa, Toshinori Tsuru, Masakoto Kanezashi
Summary: F-BTESM membranes were fabricated by doping a fluorine source into BTESM, resulting in controllable pore size and enhanced hydrocarbon permeation properties. The addition of fluorine at the correct concentration improved molecular sieving for C3/C4 hydrocarbon separation, showing high C3H6 permeance with an expanded pore size. In binary N-2/C3-C4 hydrocarbon separation, the permeance of N-2 was decreased due to a blocking effect by hydrocarbons with stronger affinity inhibiting N-2 permeation.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Sulaiman Oladipo Lawal, Yuya Takahashi, Hiroki Nagasawa, Toshinori Tsuru, Masakoto Kanezashi
Summary: This study demonstrated that yttrium doping improved the thermal stability of SiO2-ZrO2 composite, enabling it to maintain stable permeance and minimizing phase segregation and microstructural densification at high temperatures. In comparison, the pristine SiO2-ZrO2 showed a rapid decline in permeance under high-temperature conditions.
JOURNAL OF SOL-GEL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Joji Ohshita, Takatoshi Okonogi, Kohei Kajimura, Katsuhiro Horata, Yohei Adachi, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: The CO2 separation ability of amine-containing polysilsesquioxane (PSQ) membranes was investigated. PSQ membranes were prepared using different amine-containing monomers and copolymerized with bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane. It was found that CO2 affinity and porosity were crucial factors affecting CO2 separation performance.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Dian Zhang, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru, Kazuki Yamamoto, Takahiro Gunji, Yohei Adachi, Joji Ohshita
Summary: Polysilsesquioxane (PSQ) reverse osmosis membranes were prepared by copolymerizing 3-glycidyloxypropyl-POSS (GPOSS) and bis[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]amine (BTESPA), exhibiting high NaCl rejection, good heat resistance, and chlorine resistance. The introduction of GPOSS-derived units significantly improved NaCl rejection and liquid permeability, achieving NaCl rejection of approximately 99% and liquid permeability of 5.5 x 10-13 m/s center dot Pa. These PSQ membranes with GPOSS-derived units showed excellent heat resistance up to 100 degrees C and favorable resistance to chlorine, with no obvious performance change observed after exposure to NaOCl aqueous solution (1000 ppm) for 10 h.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Kohei Kajimura, Katsuhiro Horata, Yohei Adachi, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru, Joji Ohshita
Summary: Urea-and isocyanurate-containing polysilsesquioxane (PSQ) membranes were prepared and their CO2 separation performance was investigated. The synthesis of urea-containing PSQ membranes on inorganic supports and copolymerization with bis(triethoxysilyl)alkanes (EtO)3Si(CH2)xSi(OEt)3 (x = 1-3) improved the CO2/N2 permselectivity and CO2 permeance. Homopolymerization of isocyanurate-containing precursors yielded membranes with even higher performance, especially the membrane prepared from tris(triethoxysilylpropyl) isocyanurate (TTESPI) showed the highest CO2 permeance and CO2/N-2 permselectivity. The CO2-philicity of urea units played a role in determining membrane performance.
JOURNAL OF SOL-GEL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ivan Merino-Garcia, Gonzalo Garcia, Ignacio Hernandez, Jonathan Albo
Summary: This study proposes a method for continuous visible light-driven CO2 photoconversion to methanol using Cu2O/Mo2C/TiO2 heterostructures, which shows significant improvement in process performance. The heterostructures with 4 wt% of Cu2O exhibit superior methanol production rates, apparent quantum yield, and reaction selectivity compared to Cu2O-free Mo2C/TiO2 photocatalytic surfaces. The synergistic effect between Cu2O, Mo2C, and TiO2 in the heterostructures enhances charge separation and transfer, visible light absorption properties, and photocatalytic stability.
JOURNAL OF CO2 UTILIZATION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Guanying Dong, Yatao Zhang, Xinchang Pang, Meng Guo, Norihiro Moriyama, Hiroki Nagasawa, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: In this study, a facile and novel co-condensation strategy was proposed to achieve efficient pervaporation separation of aromatic/aliphatic mixtures using composite organosilica membranes. The results showed that by tailoring the membrane pore size and enhancing substance adsorption, composite organosilica membranes with superior separation performance were obtained.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Risa Takenaka, Norihiro Moriyama, Hiroki Nagasawa, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was coated on various polymeric porous substrates to prepare composite membranes for water vapor separation. The membranes showed high water permeance and selectivity, with a reproducible and stable performance. The GO composite membranes also maintained their performance at high temperatures, making them useful for water vapor separation applications.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Hiroki Nagasawa, Takuya Okada, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: The plasma-induced polymerization of liquid silsesquioxane monomer (BTESE) at the gas-liquid interface was successfully achieved using an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet at room temperature. This resulted in the formation of a thin polysilsesquioxane layer on the surface of a porous support. The confined polymerization at the plasma-liquid interface proved to be advantageous for preparing nanocomposite membranes with a thin selective layer.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wei-Wei Yan, Ufafa Anggarini, Hong-Cun Bai, Hiroki Nagasawa, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: Bis[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl] amine (BTPA) membranes doped with different metals (Fe, Ni, and Ag) were tested for the permeation properties of H-2, N-2, and NH3. The metal-coordinated BTPA gels showed excellent NH3 adsorption and desorption capacity due to the coordination between metal and NH3. The Ni-BTPA membrane exhibited the highest NH3 permeance and selectivity among all tested materials.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Ufafa Anggarini, Hiroki Nagasawa, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: A high-performance nickel-doped hindered tertiary amine-ring structure was created in TTPI membranes for CO2/N-2 separation using an organosilica-based coordination polymer. Increasing the Ni/N mole ratio improved metal affinity, resulting in enhanced structural rigidity, surface area, and CO2 adsorption capacity. Precise tuning of the pore size, increased microporosity, and the establishment of Ni(OH)(2) further improved permeation, achieving an ultrahigh CO2 permeance and a high CO2/N-2 permeance ratio.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Shun Aoyama, Hiroki Nagasawa, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: The effects of plasma treatment time on the gas permeation and pervaporation dehydration properties of organosilica membranes were investigated. The study found that increasing plasma modification time resulted in a decrease in pore size, leading to an increased He/N2 permeance ratio. The H2O/EtOH permeance ratio also increased from about 20 to over 1000 as the plasma modification time increased due to changes in pore structure and water adsorption properties.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Norihiro Moriyama, Kotaro Wakimoto, Hiroki Nagasawa, Masakoto Kanezashi, Toshinori Tsuru
Summary: In this study, the performance of PFSA membranes in humid gas separation was evaluated at temperatures ranging from 80 to 200 °C under various relative humidity conditions. It was found that PFSA layers with a thickness of 80 nm exhibited high water permeability and water/nitrogen permeance ratio at high temperatures. This study provides insights into the use of PFSA membranes at high temperatures under humid conditions.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jose Antonio Abarca, Guillermo Diaz-Sainz, Ivan Merino-Garcia, Garikoitz Beobide, Jonathan Albo, Angel Irabien
Summary: An automated spray pyrolysis technique coupled with a plasma surface treatment was used to fabricate Bi-based gas diffusion electrodes, improving the electroreduction of CO2 to formate. The optimal fabrication conditions were determined by evaluating three fabrication parameters. The results showed good reproducibility of the fabrication method and higher formate rates compared to manual airbrushing. Plasma treatment also increased formate concentration. This research provides insights into more efficient methods for CO2 electroreduction electrode manufacturing and brings this technology closer to an industrial scale.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Ikram Rana, Hiroki Nagasawa, Toshinori Tsuru, Masakoto Kanezashi
Summary: This study presents a novel approach for the fabrication of highly CO2-permeable membranes by functionalizing tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) membranes with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilyl (APTES) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). The interaction between APTES and TFA enables reversible CO2 adsorption/desorption, leading to increased microporosity and structural variations that enhance molecular sieving and control the CO2-philic sites. This method shows great potential for energy-efficient membrane fabrication.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sulaiman Oladipo Lawal, Hiroki Nagasawa, Toshinori Tsuru, Masakoto Kanezashi
Summary: A flexible method of fabricating high-performance carbon-ceramic composite membranes was developed in this study by designing the precursor preceramic polymer structures and optimizing the processing parameters. The composite membranes exhibited molecular sieving performance with selectivities of H-2/SF6 and H-2/CH4 reaching 10(4) and 10(2) respectively.
MOLECULAR SYSTEMS DESIGN & ENGINEERING
(2022)