High-efficiency dysprosium-ion extraction enabled by a biomimetic nanofluidic channel

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 5876 - 11
• Main Authors: Xin, Weiwen, Cui, Yanglansen, Qian, Yongchao, Liu, Tianchi, Kong, Xiang-Yu, Ling, Haoyang, Chen, Weipeng, Zhang, Zhehua, Hu, Yuhao, Jiang, Lei, Wen, Liping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 12.07.2024; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Affinity; Asymmetry; Biomimetics; Biomimetics - methods; Chemistry; Dysprosium; Dysprosium - chemistry; Earth resources; Efficiency; Environmental protection; Fluidics; Heat treating; Ion channels; Ion extraction; Ions; Membrane permeability; Nanofluids; Nanotechnology - methods; Neodymium - chemistry; Proline; Rare earth elements; Rare resources; Science; Selectivity; Separation
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50237-9

Biological ion channels exhibit high selectivity and permeability of ions because of their asymmetrical pore structures and surface chemistries. Here, we demonstrate a biomimetic nanofluidic channel (BNC) with an asymmetrical structure and glycyl-L-proline (GLP) -functionalization for ultrafast, selective, and unidirectional Dy extraction over other lanthanide (Ln ) ions with very similar electronic configurations. The selective extraction mainly depends on the amplified chemical affinity differences between the Ln ions and GLPs in nanoconfinement. In particular, the conductivities of Ln ions across the BNC even reach up to two orders of magnitude higher than in a bulk solution, and a high Dy /Nd selectivity of approximately 60 could be achieved. The designed BNC can effectively extract Dy ions with ultralow concentrations and thereby purify Nd ions to an ultimate content of 99.8 wt.%, which contribute to the recycling of rare earth resources and environmental protection. Theoretical simulations reveal that the BNC preferentially binds to Dy ion due to its highest affinity among Ln ions in nanoconfinement, which attributes to the coupling of ion radius and coordination matching. These findings suggest that BNC-based ion selectivity system provides alternative routes to achieving highly efficient lanthanide separation.