Large-scale polymeric carbon nanotube membranes with sub-1.27-nm pores

We report the first characterization study of commercial prototype carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes consisting of sub-1.27-nm-diameter CNTs traversing a large-area nonporous polysulfone film. The membranes show rejection of NaCl and MgSO at higher ionic strengths than have previously been reported in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science advances 2018-03, Vol.4 (3), p.e1700938-e1700938
Main Authors: McGinnis, Robert L, Reimund, Kevin, Ren, Jian, Xia, Lingling, Chowdhury, Maqsud R, Sun, Xuanhao, Abril, Maritza, Moon, Joshua D, Merrick, Melanie M, Park, Jaesung, Stevens, Kevin A, McCutcheon, Jeffrey R, Freeman, Benny D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied Sciences and Engineering
MATERIALS SCIENCE
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Summary:We report the first characterization study of commercial prototype carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes consisting of sub-1.27-nm-diameter CNTs traversing a large-area nonporous polysulfone film. The membranes show rejection of NaCl and MgSO at higher ionic strengths than have previously been reported in CNT membranes, and specific size selectivity for analytes with diameters below 1.24 nm. The CNTs used in the membranes were arc discharge nanotubes with inner diameters of 0.67 to 1.27 nm. Water flow through the membranes was 1000 times higher than predicted by Hagen-Poiseuille flow, in agreement with previous CNT membrane studies. Ideal gas selectivity was found to deviate significantly from that predicted by both viscous and Knudsen flow, suggesting that surface diffusion effects may begin to dominate gas selectivity at this size scale.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.1700938