Photo-induced ultrafast active ion transport through graphene oxide membranes

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 1171
• Main Authors: Yang, Jinlei, Hu, Xiaoyu, Kong, Xian, Jia, Pan, Ji, Danyan, Quan, Di, Wang, Lili, Wen, Qi, Lu, Diannan, Wu, Jianzhong, Jiang, Lei, Guo, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.03.2019; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/299; 639/301/357/1018; 639/925/927/1058; 639/925/927/351; Active transport; Cations; Charge materials; Charge transport; Concentration gradient; Diffusion rate; Diodes; Electric potential; ENGINEERING; Fluidics; Graphene; Humanities and Social Sciences; Illumination; Ion transport; Ions; Irradiation; Light irradiation; Materials for energy and catalysis; Membranes; multidisciplinary; Nanofluidics; Nanofluids; Nanopores; Photonics; Photosynthesis; Radiation; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Semiconductor devices; Switches; Transistors; Transport phenomena; Transport properties; Two-dimensional materials
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09178-x

Layered graphene oxide membranes (GOM) with densely packed sub-nanometer-wide lamellar channels show exceptional ionic and molecular transport properties. Mass and charge transport in existing materials follows their concentration gradient, whereas attaining anti-gradient transport, also called active transport, remains a great challenge. Here, we demonstrate a coupled photon-electron-ion transport phenomenon through the GOM. Upon asymmetric light illumination, cations are able to move thermodynamically uphill over a broad range of concentrations, at rates much faster than that via simple diffusion. We propose, as a plausible mechanism, that light irradiation reduces the local electric potential on the GOM following a carrier diffusion mechanism. When the illumination is applied to an off-center position, an electric potential difference is built that can drive the transport of ionic species. We further develop photonic ion switches, photonic ion diodes, and photonic ion transistors as the fundamental elements for active ion sieving and artificial photosynthesis on synthetic nanofluidic circuits. Ionic transport through subnanometer-sized channels in 2D material-based membranes can be exploited for energy and separation applications. Here the authors demonstrate the visible light activation of an ultrafast ionic flux against a concentration gradient in graphene oxide membranes.