Journal article 55 views
Selective ion transport through hydrated micropores in polymer membranes
Anqi Wang 
,
Charlotte Breakwell,
Fabrizia Foglia ,
Rui Tan ,
Louie Lovell ,
Xiaochu Wei ,
Toby Wong,
Naiqi Meng ,
Haodong Li,
Andrew Seel,
Mona Sarter ,
Keenan Smith,
Alberto Alvarez‐Fernandez,
Mate Furedi ,
Stefan Guldin ,
Melanie M. Britton ,
Neil B. McKeown ,
Kim E. Jelfs ,
Qilei Song
,
Charlotte Breakwell,
Fabrizia Foglia ,
Rui Tan ,
Louie Lovell ,
Xiaochu Wei ,
Toby Wong,
Naiqi Meng ,
Haodong Li,
Andrew Seel,
Mona Sarter ,
Keenan Smith,
Alberto Alvarez‐Fernandez,
Mate Furedi ,
Stefan Guldin ,
Melanie M. Britton ,
Neil B. McKeown ,
Kim E. Jelfs ,
Qilei Song
Nature, Volume: 635, Issue: 8038, Pages: 353 - 358
Swansea University Author:
Rui Tan
Full text not available from this repository: check for access using links below.
DOI (Published version): 10.1038/s41586-024-08140-2
Abstract
Ion-conducting polymer membranes are essential in many separation processes and electrochemical devices, including electrodialysis1, redox flow batteries2, fuel cells3 and electrolysers4,5. Controlling ion transport and selectivity in these membranes largely hinges on the manipulation of pore size....
| Published in: | Nature |
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| ISSN: | 0028-0836 1476-4687 |
| Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2024
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68345 |
| Abstract: |
Ion-conducting polymer membranes are essential in many separation processes and electrochemical devices, including electrodialysis1, redox flow batteries2, fuel cells3 and electrolysers4,5. Controlling ion transport and selectivity in these membranes largely hinges on the manipulation of pore size. Although membrane pore structures can be designed in the dry state6, they are redefined upon hydration owing to swelling in electrolyte solutions. Strategies to control pore hydration and a deeper understanding of pore structure evolution are vital for accurate pore size tuning. Here we report polymer membranes containing pendant groups of varying hydrophobicity, strategically positioned near charged groups to regulate their hydration capacity and pore swelling. Modulation of the hydrated micropore size (less than two nanometres) enables direct control over water and ion transport across broad length scales, as quantified by spectroscopic and computational methods. Ion selectivity improves in hydration-restrained pores created by more hydrophobic pendant groups. These highly interconnected ion transport channels, with tuned pore gate sizes, show higher ionic conductivity and orders-of-magnitude lower permeation rates of redox-active species compared with conventional membranes, enabling stable cycling of energy-dense aqueous organic redox flow batteries. This pore size tailoring approach provides a promising avenue to membranes with precisely controlled ionic and molecular transport functions. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This work was funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ERC-StG-PE8-NanoMMES number 851272, CoMMaD number 758370), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, EP/V047078/1, EP/W033356/1, EP/V057863/1, EP/W033321/1 and EP/K039245/1), the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Impact Acceleration Account (EP/X52556X/1) and UKRI under the UK Government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee (EP/Y014391/1). C.B. acknowledges an EPSRC iCASE PhD studentship funded by EPSRC and Shell. T.W. acknowledges an EPSRC CDT PhD studentship funded by EPSRC and bp-ICAM. We thank D. Liu for help with atomic force microscopy; P. A. A. Klusener for industrial insights; and Z. Jiang for providing PAN support membranes and discussions. We also thank Surface Measurement Systems for help with DVS measurements, the neutron scattering facilities at ISIS (Didcot, UK) for the award of beamtime necessary to carry out these experiments, and N. C. Osti at SNS for help with beamline support. Work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source was sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy. ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for US DOE under contract number DEAC05-00OR22725. |
| Issue: |
8038 |
| Start Page: |
353 |
| End Page: |
358 |