Fullerene-regulated graphene oxide nanosheet membranes with well-defined laminar nanochannels for precise molecule sieving

Graphene oxide nanosheets (GONs), featuring atomic thickness, good dispersibility, robustness and high production yield, have attracted great attention in the fabrication of ion and molecule sieving membranes. However, construction of well-defined two-dimensional nanochannels for precise separation...

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Published inJournal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 6; no. 45; pp. 22590 - 22598
Main Authors Tang, Xingyan, Qu, Yan, Deng, Shun-Liu, Tan, Yuan-Zhi, Zhang, Qiugen, Liu, Qinglin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
Subjects
Buckminsterfullerene
Contact angle
Crosslinking
Fabrication
Fullerenes
Graphene
Mechanical properties
Membrane permeability
Membranes
Nanochannels
Nanofiltration
Nanosheets
Nanotechnology
Permeability
Raman spectra
Raman spectroscopy
Selectivity
Separation
Structural stability
Well construction
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Summary:Graphene oxide nanosheets (GONs), featuring atomic thickness, good dispersibility, robustness and high production yield, have attracted great attention in the fabrication of ion and molecule sieving membranes. However, construction of well-defined two-dimensional nanochannels for precise separation of small molecules is still a challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a versatile strategy to construct well-defined laminar nanochannels of GON membranes sized at 1–2 nm for high-efficient molecule separation by introducing functionalized fullerenes (C 60 ). Functionalized C 60 is not only a well-defined and rigid nanosized fulcrum to precisely construct the laminar nanochannels, but also a crosslinker to produce membranes with excellent structural stability. The resultant membranes retain good hydrophilicity and have short laminar nanochannels with a precise height from 0.91 to 1.56 nm. The membrane with perfect 1.56 nm-high channels has the highest water permeability, which is four orders of magnitude higher than that of the reduced GON membrane, and shows excellent size selectivity for organic dyes. Furthermore, the fabricated membranes display robust mechanical strength and good long-term stability for nanofiltration.
ISSN:2050-7488
2050-7496
DOI:10.1039/C8TA08261H