Nanofiltration across Defect-Sealed Nanoporous Monolayer Graphene.
Monolayer nanoporous graphene represents an ideal membrane for molecular separations, but its practical realization is impeded by leakage through defects in the ultrathin graphene. Here, we report a multiscale leakage-sealing process that exploits the nonpolar nature and impermeability of pristine graphene to selectively block defects, resulting in a centimeter-scale membrane that can separate two fluid reservoirs by an atomically thin layer of graphene. After introducing subnanometer pores in graphene, the membrane exhibited rejection of multivalent ions and small molecules and water flux consistent with prior molecular dynamics simulations. The results indicate the feasibility of constructing defect-tolerant monolayer graphene membranes for nanofiltration, desalination, and other separation processes.
†Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Sean C
SC
O'Hern
†Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Doojoon
D
Jang
†Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Suman
S
Bose
‡Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States.
Juan-Carlos
JC
Idrobo
§Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Yi
Y
Song
∥Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
Tahar
T
Laoui
§Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Jing
J
Kong
†Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Rohit
R
Karnik
D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D008566:Membranes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D058608:Nanopores / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D007477:Ions; D014867:Water; D006108:Graphite
Molecular sieve; desalination; filter; forward osmosis; membrane; reverse osmosis