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 g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2015-05, Vol.15 (5), p.3254-3260
Main Authors: O’Hern, Sean C, Jang, Doojoon, Bose, Suman, Idrobo, Juan-Carlos, Song, Yi, Laoui, Tahar, Kong, Jing, Karnik, Rohit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Defects
Desalination
Graphene
Graphite - chemistry
Ions - chemistry
Membranes
Membranes - chemistry
Membranes - ultrastructure
Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Monolayers
Nanofiltration
Nanopores - ultrastructure
NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanostructure
Separation
stem
Water - chemistry
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00456