title: Physics behind Water Transport through Nanoporous Boron Nitride and Graphene.
abstract: In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were used to determine the surface tension profile of water on graphene and boron nitride (BN) multilayers and to predict water permeation through nanoporous graphene and BN membranes. For both graphene and BN multilayers, a decrease in surface tension (γ) was evidenced as the number of layers increased. This lessening in γ was shown to result from a negative surface tension contribution due to long-range wetting of water, which also contributes to lower water permeation through a two-layer membrane with respect to permeation through a monolayer. We also showed that a decrease in water surface tension on a BN monolayer with regards to graphene was at the origin of an increase in water permeation through BN. Our findings suggest that nanoporous BN membranes could be attractive candidates for desalination applications.
authors: Institut de Physique de Rennes, IPR, UMR CNRS 6251, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France.
authors: Ludovic
authors: L
authors: Garnier
authors: Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, CNRS, UMR 6226, Université de Rennes 1 , 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France.
authors: Anthony
authors: A
authors: Szymczyk
authors: Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand, ICCF, UMR CNRS 6296, BP 10448, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors: Patrice
authors: P
authors: Malfreyt
authors: Institut de Physique de Rennes, IPR, UMR CNRS 6251, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France.
authors: Aziz
authors: A
authors: Ghoufi