Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-31DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125106
Lei Han , Yining Hou , Ruihang Zhang , Yang Liu , Yan Xiong , Hao-Ran Zuo , Ming Duan
Membranes constructed via C–C bond formation exhibit superior chemical resistance compared to conventional polyamide (PA) membranes of which the performance often deteriorates under extreme pH conditions, making them promising candidates for dye wastewater treatment. In this study, we developed a novel positively charged nanofiltration (NF) membrane, denoted as PCNM, through redox-initiated interfacial free-radical polymerization. Quaternary ammonium groups were introduced to impart a stable positive charge, significantly enhancing dye separation performance. Membrane morphology and surface roughness were characterized using SEM and AFM. The PCNM membrane demonstrated exceptional rejection (>99 %) for all tested cationic dyes, including Crystal violet (CV), Brilliant green (BG), Methylene blue (MEB), and Safranine O (SO) with an outstanding separation factor of 736.6 (CV over Na–SO4). Notably, it retained 99 % rejection against CV after 48-h exposure to 2000 ppm NaClO (96,000 ppm h), highlighting its outstanding chlorine resistance. Furthermore, the membrane exhibited remarkable pH stability, maintaining 99 % rejection against CV after 24-h immersion in 1 mol/L H2SO4 and 1 mol/L NaOH, respectively. Consequently, this work presents a new strategy for fabricating high-performance positively charged NF membranes via interfacial free-radical polymerization, with significant potential for industrial dye wastewater treatment.
{"title":"Positively charged nanofiltration membrane with superior chemical stability for separation of dyes from salts","authors":"Lei Han , Yining Hou , Ruihang Zhang , Yang Liu , Yan Xiong , Hao-Ran Zuo , Ming Duan","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125106","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125106","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Membranes constructed via C–C bond formation exhibit superior chemical resistance compared to conventional polyamide (PA) membranes of which the performance often deteriorates under extreme pH conditions, making them promising candidates for dye wastewater treatment. In this study, we developed a novel positively charged nanofiltration (NF) membrane, denoted as PCNM, through redox-initiated interfacial free-radical polymerization. Quaternary ammonium groups were introduced to impart a stable positive charge, significantly enhancing dye separation performance. Membrane morphology and surface roughness were characterized using SEM and AFM. The PCNM membrane demonstrated exceptional rejection (>99 %) for all tested cationic dyes, including Crystal violet (CV), Brilliant green (BG), Methylene blue (MEB), and Safranine O (SO) with an outstanding separation factor of 736.6 (CV over Na–SO<sub>4</sub>). Notably, it retained 99 % rejection against CV after 48-h exposure to 2000 ppm NaClO (96,000 ppm h), highlighting its outstanding chlorine resistance. Furthermore, the membrane exhibited remarkable pH stability, maintaining 99 % rejection against CV after 24-h immersion in 1 mol/L H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> and 1 mol/L NaOH, respectively. Consequently, this work presents a new strategy for fabricating high-performance positively charged NF membranes via interfacial free-radical polymerization, with significant potential for industrial dye wastewater treatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"742 ","pages":"Article 125106"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-07DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125128
Nasser AL-Hamdani , Giuseppe Costanzo , Giorgio Purpura , J. Luque Di Salvo , Giorgio De Luca
Many works focused on predicting water permeability in polyamides utilized in osmotic membranes, but few of them provide Multi-Scale (MS) calculations free from tunable parameters. In this paper, the phenomenological water permeability was calculated by a novel MS approach. Two biphasic models, water/FT-30 polyamide and dilute salt solution/polyamide, were simulated. Molecular Dynamics (MD) –based simulations were first performed to obtain the equilibrium water volume fraction and the water mass concentrations in the polymeric phase. Then the analytical solution of Fick's second law, provided by Penetration Theory, was used to obtain the water diffusion coefficient, exploiting the MD water mass concentrations. The computed water uptake was found to be in good agreement with the values available in the literature using both biphasic models. Moreover, the MS method yields water diffusion coefficients comparable with the smallest available theoretical and experimental values. Water permeability as well, is in agreement with the experimental values referring to ultrathin polyamide membranes, while the agreement is lost for membranes with thicker active layers. Therefore, the proposed MS methodology is reliable for predicting water permeability in this kind of promising membranes and for designing new ultrathin polymer membranes since it is based on atomistic-scale simulations. The strength of the method lies in the suitable assembly of advanced nanoscale simulations with the macroscopic Fick's transport equation.
{"title":"Water permeability of ultrathin polyamide membranes: a computation study from molecular to macro scale","authors":"Nasser AL-Hamdani , Giuseppe Costanzo , Giorgio Purpura , J. Luque Di Salvo , Giorgio De Luca","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125128","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125128","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many works focused on predicting water permeability in polyamides utilized in osmotic membranes, but few of them provide Multi-Scale (MS) calculations free from tunable parameters. In this paper, the phenomenological water permeability was calculated by a novel MS approach. Two biphasic models, water/FT-30 polyamide and dilute salt solution/polyamide, were simulated. Molecular Dynamics (MD) –based simulations were first performed to obtain the equilibrium water volume fraction and the water mass concentrations in the polymeric phase. Then the analytical solution of Fick's second law, provided by Penetration Theory, was used to obtain the water diffusion coefficient, exploiting the MD water mass concentrations. The computed water uptake was found to be in good agreement with the values available in the literature using both biphasic models. Moreover, the MS method yields water diffusion coefficients comparable with the smallest available theoretical and experimental values. Water permeability as well, is in agreement with the experimental values referring to ultrathin polyamide membranes, while the agreement is lost for membranes with thicker active layers. Therefore, the proposed MS methodology is reliable for predicting water permeability in this kind of promising membranes and for designing new ultrathin polymer membranes since it is based on atomistic-scale simulations. The strength of the method lies in the suitable assembly of advanced nanoscale simulations with the macroscopic Fick's transport equation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"742 ","pages":"Article 125128"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125168
Pengcheng Su , Jiahao Zhang , Wufeng Wu , Yihao Xiao , Taotao Xu , Shibiao Wu , Yaqin Wang , Wanbin Li
Metal−organic framework (MOF) membranes have shown dramatic potential in gas separation applications. However, there still great challenges exist in controlling gas transport pathways at atomic level to realize sharp molecular sieving. Here, we report vapor-phase crystalline transformation of ZIF-8 membranes by linker exchange strategy for precise hydrogen separation. Through exchanging parent 2-methylimidazole (MeIM) linkers by the incoming benzimidazole (BIM) linkers, ZIF-8 can transform into various crystal phases. The introduced bulky BIM with larger steric hindrance can narrow intrinsic apertures and suppress linker flexibility, thus enhancing the molecular sieving abilities. The resulting membranes show substantially improved separation performances with H2/CO2, H2/N2 and H2/CH4 selectivities up to 70.5, 89.2 and 101.2, respectively, accompanied by high H2 permeance of 14.3 × 10−8 mol m−2 s−1 Pa−1 as well as good reproducibility, thermal stability and long-term sustainability. We envisage that this simple vapor-phase crystalline transformation strategy offers an alternative route to prepare high-performance membranes for precise separations and other various applications.
{"title":"Vapor-phase crystalline transformation of metal-organic framework membranes for efficient hydrogen separation","authors":"Pengcheng Su , Jiahao Zhang , Wufeng Wu , Yihao Xiao , Taotao Xu , Shibiao Wu , Yaqin Wang , Wanbin Li","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125168","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2026.125168","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metal−organic framework (MOF) membranes have shown dramatic potential in gas separation applications. However, there still great challenges exist in controlling gas transport pathways at atomic level to realize sharp molecular sieving. Here, we report vapor-phase crystalline transformation of ZIF-8 membranes by linker exchange strategy for precise hydrogen separation. Through exchanging parent 2-methylimidazole (MeIM) linkers by the incoming benzimidazole (BIM) linkers, ZIF-8 can transform into various crystal phases. The introduced bulky BIM with larger steric hindrance can narrow intrinsic apertures and suppress linker flexibility, thus enhancing the molecular sieving abilities. The resulting membranes show substantially improved separation performances with H<sub>2</sub>/CO<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> selectivities up to 70.5, 89.2 and 101.2, respectively, accompanied by high H<sub>2</sub> permeance of 14.3 × 10<sup>−8</sup> mol m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> Pa<sup>−1</sup> as well as good reproducibility, thermal stability and long-term sustainability. We envisage that this simple vapor-phase crystalline transformation strategy offers an alternative route to prepare high-performance membranes for precise separations and other various applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"742 ","pages":"Article 125168"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146035012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-20DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125082
Yanmei Li , Wufeng Wu , Yali Zhao , Yanying Wei , Haihui Wang
Interfacial incompatibility between inorganic fillers and polymer matrix remains a major challenge in developing high-performance zeolite-based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), especially for the ones employing high-aspect-ratio two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets as fillers owing to the consequently enlarged interfacial area. Herein, a thermally induced crosslinking strategy is proposed to construct covalent Si–O–C linkages between RUB-15 nanosheets with abundant hydroxy groups and a polyimide (PI) matrix, effectively eliminating interfacial defects. Due to the improved interfacial compatibility, the membrane gas separation performance is significantly enhanced, presenting a He permeability of 87 Barrer with an impressive He/CH4 selectivity of 357, ∼3.2 times as high as that before crosslinking. Furthermore, excellent separation stability is maintained over ten thermal cycling tests, demonstrating superior durability. This study presents a universal and efficient interfacial engineering strategy for fabrication of robust high-aspect-ratio 2D zeolite-based MMMs and highlights its significant potential in advancing next-generation gas separation technologies.
{"title":"Engineering zeolite nanosheets-polymer interface via thermal treatment: crosslinked-PI&RUB-15 membranes for efficient He recovery","authors":"Yanmei Li , Wufeng Wu , Yali Zhao , Yanying Wei , Haihui Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125082","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125082","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Interfacial incompatibility between inorganic fillers and polymer matrix remains a major challenge in developing high-performance zeolite-based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), especially for the ones employing high-aspect-ratio two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets as fillers owing to the consequently enlarged interfacial area. Herein, a thermally induced crosslinking strategy is proposed to construct covalent Si–<em>O</em>–C linkages between RUB-15 nanosheets with abundant hydroxy groups and a polyimide (PI) matrix, effectively eliminating interfacial defects. Due to the improved interfacial compatibility, the membrane gas separation performance is significantly enhanced, presenting a He permeability of 87 Barrer with an impressive He/CH<sub>4</sub> selectivity of 357, ∼3.2 times as high as that before crosslinking. Furthermore, excellent separation stability is maintained over ten thermal cycling tests, demonstrating superior durability. This study presents a universal and efficient interfacial engineering strategy for fabrication of robust high-aspect-ratio 2D zeolite-based MMMs and highlights its significant potential in advancing next-generation gas separation technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 125082"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145837184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-14DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125065
Fan Wang , Qiaobei Dong , Dinesh Kumar Behera , Weiwei Xu , Shiguang Li , Miao Yu
Nanoconfined ionic liquid (NCIL) membranes emerge as a highly promising candidate for gas separation due to the high-pressure durability, high gas selectivity, and ease of regeneration. However, the scalability and stability of liquid-based membranes for practical applications remain debatable. Herein, we demonstrated an industrially viable NCIL membrane for efficient CO2 capture from real coal-fired flue gas, via conducting a field testing using 1000 cm2 hollow fiber membrane modules at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in Wilsonville, AL, USA. Prior to the field testing, the gas separation performance was systematically evaluated using simulated flue gas to determine the optimal membrane structure and operation conditions. When using real flue gas in field testing, the membrane module demonstrated excellent and stable gas separation performance with stage cut for 8 days, with a log-mean CO2 permeance of 525 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity of 488 at 70 °C. Apart from high CO2 capture rate up to 47 %, the membrane was capable of elevating the CO2 dry-basis purity from 10.4 % to 97 % in a single stage. The field-testing results represent the first successful module-level demonstration of NCIL membrane system and further validate its potential for industrial CO2 separation. Furthermore, this scale-up process is expected to serve as a platform or template for scaling up other task-specific liquid-based (TSIL) membranes, while largely mitigating the effects of substrate quality.
{"title":"Scale-up and field testing of nanoconfined ionic liquid membranes for CO2 capture from real flue gas","authors":"Fan Wang , Qiaobei Dong , Dinesh Kumar Behera , Weiwei Xu , Shiguang Li , Miao Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125065","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125065","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanoconfined ionic liquid (NCIL) membranes emerge as a highly promising candidate for gas separation due to the high-pressure durability, high gas selectivity, and ease of regeneration. However, the scalability and stability of liquid-based membranes for practical applications remain debatable. Herein, we demonstrated an industrially viable NCIL membrane for efficient CO<sub>2</sub> capture from real coal-fired flue gas, via conducting a field testing using 1000 cm<sup>2</sup> hollow fiber membrane modules at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in Wilsonville, AL, USA. Prior to the field testing, the gas separation performance was systematically evaluated using simulated flue gas to determine the optimal membrane structure and operation conditions. When using real flue gas in field testing, the membrane module demonstrated excellent and stable gas separation performance with stage cut for 8 days, with a log-mean CO<sub>2</sub> permeance of 525 GPU and CO<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> selectivity of 488 at 70 °C. Apart from high CO<sub>2</sub> capture rate up to 47 %, the membrane was capable of elevating the CO<sub>2</sub> dry-basis purity from 10.4 % to 97 % in a single stage. The field-testing results represent the first successful module-level demonstration of NCIL membrane system and further validate its potential for industrial CO<sub>2</sub> separation. Furthermore, this scale-up process is expected to serve as a platform or template for scaling up other task-specific liquid-based (TSIL) membranes, while largely mitigating the effects of substrate quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 125065"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145837185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-17DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125077
Peng Zu , Haoning Li , Xiao Huang , Xinyuan Zheng , Guangming Yan , Dongsheng Li , Gang Zhang
High-quality MXene layers, as well as reliable preparation methods that can facilitate the production of MXene layers with controllable lateral dimensions, are of paramount importance for meeting the diverse requirements of multiple fields. Concurrently, increasing the yield of MXene layers to achieve large-scale manufacturing has become an urgent goal for both academic and industrial domains. Accordingly, this study presented, for the first time, an efficient strategy to employ a basic high-speed blender to prepare large-sized MXene layers via a cell-wall disruption method, which consisted of two modes: sub-high-speed (10000 rpm) and ultra-high-speed (35000 rpm). Under high-speed rotation, the blades exerted intense shear force on multilayer MXene, enabling the rapid preparation of both large-sized and small-sized MXene layers with yields of 89.2 % (sub-high-speed) and 99.1 % (ultra-high-speed), respectively. MXene layers obtained via sub-high-speed cell-wall disruption possessed a large average lateral dimension of 7.3 μm. In terms of both yield and layer size, this strategy surpassed most existing approaches. Subsequently, an innovative strategy for membrane assembly was developed. The prepared large-sized MXene layers were subjected to low-vacuum filtration to be assembled into a separation membrane (termed LM) with sub-nanometer channels characterized by fairly low mass transfer resistance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the effective interlayer spacing of the LM was 8.1 Å. Within the mass transfer channels, the hydration shell of Na+.5H2O remained almost unchanged, with merely a marginal increase in the average distance between the ion and the oxygen atoms of H2O molecules. Moreover, the adsorption energy of Na+.5H2O in the sub-nanometer channels of the LM was comparatively low, with a value of only −1.36 eV. Consequently, in CR/NaCl separation, the LM exhibited an extremely high flux of 545.8 L m−2 h−1 and an outstanding dye/salt selectivity of 35.2. This work represents a significant breakthrough in addressing the major issues of low preparation efficiency and uncontrollable layer size in MXene production, thereby establishing a solid foundation for the large-scale preparation of MXene and its extensive application across various industrial sectors, especially in fabricating advanced separation membranes.
{"title":"From shear exfoliation to membrane fabrication: Scalable production of large-sized MXene for advanced separation membranes","authors":"Peng Zu , Haoning Li , Xiao Huang , Xinyuan Zheng , Guangming Yan , Dongsheng Li , Gang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125077","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125077","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High-quality MXene layers, as well as reliable preparation methods that can facilitate the production of MXene layers with controllable lateral dimensions, are of paramount importance for meeting the diverse requirements of multiple fields. Concurrently, increasing the yield of MXene layers to achieve large-scale manufacturing has become an urgent goal for both academic and industrial domains. Accordingly, this study presented, for the first time, an efficient strategy to employ a basic high-speed blender to prepare large-sized MXene layers via a cell-wall disruption method, which consisted of two modes: sub-high-speed (10000 rpm) and ultra-high-speed (35000 rpm). Under high-speed rotation, the blades exerted intense shear force on multilayer MXene, enabling the rapid preparation of both large-sized and small-sized MXene layers with yields of 89.2 % (sub-high-speed) and 99.1 % (ultra-high-speed), respectively. MXene layers obtained via sub-high-speed cell-wall disruption possessed a large average lateral dimension of 7.3 μm. In terms of both yield and layer size, this strategy surpassed most existing approaches. Subsequently, an innovative strategy for membrane assembly was developed. The prepared large-sized MXene layers were subjected to low-vacuum filtration to be assembled into a separation membrane (termed LM) with sub-nanometer channels characterized by fairly low mass transfer resistance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the effective interlayer spacing of the LM was 8.1 Å. Within the mass transfer channels, the hydration shell of Na<sup>+</sup><strong><sup>.</sup></strong>5H<sub>2</sub>O remained almost unchanged, with merely a marginal increase in the average distance between the ion and the oxygen atoms of H<sub>2</sub>O molecules. Moreover, the adsorption energy of Na<sup>+</sup><strong><sup>.</sup></strong>5H<sub>2</sub>O in the sub-nanometer channels of the LM was comparatively low, with a value of only −1.36 eV. Consequently, in CR/NaCl separation, the LM exhibited an extremely high flux of 545.8 L m<sup>−2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup> and an outstanding dye/salt selectivity of 35.2. This work represents a significant breakthrough in addressing the major issues of low preparation efficiency and uncontrollable layer size in MXene production, thereby establishing a solid foundation for the large-scale preparation of MXene and its extensive application across various industrial sectors, especially in fabricating advanced separation membranes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 125077"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145787079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125040
Junkai Gong , Zhiwei Zhou , Hao Wang , Chuang Lei , Qiangqiang Yang , Xiaoguang Wang , Lu Shao , Yanqiu Zhang
Covalent organic framework (COF)-based membranes exhibit exceptional potential for molecular separation owing to their well-defined nanoporosity, tailorable pore apertures, and high surface-to-volume ratios. However, achieving precise pore-size regulation remains a critical challenge in membrane design. Herein, we report a defect-engineering strategy for COF membranes through in-situ polydopamine (PDA) incorporation during interfacial polymerization. Dopamine undergoes oxidative self-polymerization in the p-phenylenediamine (Pa) aqueous phase, generating PDA that simultaneously reacts with Pa monomers and infiltrates TpPa-COF framework defects via Schiff-base chemistry. This dual-function modification not only repairs structural imperfections, but also introduces hydrophilic moieties that enhance surface wettability. The optimized PDA-TpPa membrane demonstrates superior separation performance, achieving 99 % rejection of organic dyes while maintaining a high water permeance of 117.3 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. Furthermore, the membrane exhibits considerable permeance towards various organic solvents, notably for n-hexane, which reached as high as 337 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. This work establishes a novel paradigm for fabricating high-performance COF membranes.
共价有机骨架（COF）基膜由于具有明确的纳米孔隙度、可定制的孔径和高表面体积比，表现出非凡的分子分离潜力。然而，实现精确的孔径调节仍然是膜设计中的一个关键挑战。在此，我们报告了在界面聚合过程中通过原位聚多巴胺（PDA）掺入COF膜的缺陷工程策略。多巴胺在对苯二胺（Pa）水相中进行氧化自聚合，生成PDA，该PDA同时与Pa单体反应，并通过希夫碱化学渗透TpPa-COF框架缺陷。这种双重功能的修饰不仅修复了结构缺陷，而且还引入了增强表面润湿性的亲水部分。优化后的PDA-TpPa膜具有优异的分离性能，对有机染料的去除率达到99%，同时保持了117.3 L m−2 h−1 bar−1的高透水性。此外，该膜对各种有机溶剂表现出相当大的渗透性，特别是对正己烷，其渗透性高达337 L m−2 h−1 bar−1。这项工作为制造高性能碳纤维膜建立了一个新的范例。
{"title":"Molecular welded interface engineering to synthesize covalent organic framework membranes for ultrafast molecular sieving","authors":"Junkai Gong , Zhiwei Zhou , Hao Wang , Chuang Lei , Qiangqiang Yang , Xiaoguang Wang , Lu Shao , Yanqiu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125040","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125040","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Covalent organic framework (COF)-based membranes exhibit exceptional potential for molecular separation owing to their well-defined nanoporosity, tailorable pore apertures, and high surface-to-volume ratios. However, achieving precise pore-size regulation remains a critical challenge in membrane design. Herein, we report a defect-engineering strategy for COF membranes through in-situ polydopamine (PDA) incorporation during interfacial polymerization. Dopamine undergoes oxidative self-polymerization in the <em>p</em>-phenylenediamine (Pa) aqueous phase, generating PDA that simultaneously reacts with Pa monomers and infiltrates TpPa-COF framework defects via Schiff-base chemistry. This dual-function modification not only repairs structural imperfections, but also introduces hydrophilic moieties that enhance surface wettability. The optimized PDA-TpPa membrane demonstrates superior separation performance, achieving 99 % rejection of organic dyes while maintaining a high water permeance of 117.3 L m<sup>−2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup> bar<sup>−1</sup>. Furthermore, the membrane exhibits considerable permeance towards various organic solvents, notably for n-hexane, which reached as high as 337 L m<sup>−2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup> bar<sup>−1</sup>. This work establishes a novel paradigm for fabricating high-performance COF membranes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 125040"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145787153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125073
Dan Han , Huili Liu , Huayan Chen , Xihan Hu , Yue Jia , Chunri Wu , Liang wang
Climate change is one of the major challenges facing the world, and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is a crucial means of addressing global warming. Membrane CO2 absorption technology integrates membrane technology with chemical absorption techniques, offering advantages such as flexible operation, low cost, low energy consumption, and ease of scale-up. The membrane contactor serves to separate the gas and liquid phases. When the membrane pores become wetted, the mass transfer resistance of CO2 across the membrane increases rapidly. Therefore, improving the anti-wetting properties of the membrane material is fundamental to enhancing its CO2 absorption capacity. Research findings indicate that through surface roughness analysis, contact angle measurements, and immersion testing, the composite PVDF membrane fabricated via in-situ growth of CuBTC and PFOTES modification exhibited superhydrophobic properties with a maximum contact angle of 156.77°. After 60 h of continuous operation, the CO2 mass transfer rate of the composite membrane only decreased by 5.6 %, which is significantly lower than the 27.7 % decrease of the pristine PVDF membrane, demonstrating superior operational stability and anti-wetting properties. Meanwhile, under the optimal condition of 15 modification cycles, the CO2 removal efficiency and mass transfer rate of the composite membrane were higher than those of the pristine membrane, achieving improved mass transfer performance.
{"title":"In-situ growth of CuBTC and PFOTES modification to fabricate superhydrophobic PVDF membranes for membrane absorption of CO2","authors":"Dan Han , Huili Liu , Huayan Chen , Xihan Hu , Yue Jia , Chunri Wu , Liang wang","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125073","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change is one of the major challenges facing the world, and reducing carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions is a crucial means of addressing global warming. Membrane CO<sub>2</sub> absorption technology integrates membrane technology with chemical absorption techniques, offering advantages such as flexible operation, low cost, low energy consumption, and ease of scale-up. The membrane contactor serves to separate the gas and liquid phases. When the membrane pores become wetted, the mass transfer resistance of CO<sub>2</sub> across the membrane increases rapidly. Therefore, improving the anti-wetting properties of the membrane material is fundamental to enhancing its CO<sub>2</sub> absorption capacity. Research findings indicate that through surface roughness analysis, contact angle measurements, and immersion testing, the composite PVDF membrane fabricated via in-situ growth of CuBTC and PFOTES modification exhibited superhydrophobic properties with a maximum contact angle of 156.77°. After 60 h of continuous operation, the CO<sub>2</sub> mass transfer rate of the composite membrane only decreased by 5.6 %, which is significantly lower than the 27.7 % decrease of the pristine PVDF membrane, demonstrating superior operational stability and anti-wetting properties. Meanwhile, under the optimal condition of 15 modification cycles, the CO<sub>2</sub> removal efficiency and mass transfer rate of the composite membrane were higher than those of the pristine membrane, achieving improved mass transfer performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 125073"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145787154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125008
Reham Al Nuaimi , Roshni Lilly Thankamony , Jean-Pierre Benjamin Boross de Levay , Bingbing Yuan , Mansour M. Aldehaiman , Jasmeen S. Merzaban , Zhiping Lai
Membrane wetting poses a critical barrier to the long-term performance and safety of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) systems. To address this challenge, here we report the fabrication of highly hydrophobic and porous poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) membranes using a mixed solvent phase separation (MSPS) method. This strategy enables a streamlined, one-step fabrication process at moderate temperatures (≤ 65°C), effectively overcoming the processing limitations of traditional PMP membranes. The resulting membrane exhibits a hierarchical porous architecture, featuring a high density of micrometer-scale pores on the surface and a sponge-like porous network within the bulk. The distinctive surface morphology imparts exceptional omniphobicity, with a water contact angle of 156.6° ± 0.9. The interconnected channels bridging the surface and the bulk were found to be around 21 nm, which generates a robust liquid entry pressure exceeding 10 bars, ensuring leak-free operation for more than 7 days. Furthermore, the high-density surface pores facilitate an outstanding oxygen transfer rate of 156 ml min−1 m−2 in a mock ECMO circuit, marking one of the highest reported values for PMP-based membranes.
膜润湿是体外膜氧合（ECMO）系统长期性能和安全性的关键障碍。为了解决这一挑战，我们报道了使用混合溶剂相分离（MSPS）方法制备高疏水性多孔聚（4-甲基-1-戊烯）（PMP）膜。该策略实现了在中等温度（≤65°C）下的流线型一步制造工艺，有效克服了传统PMP膜的加工限制。所得到的膜呈现出层次化的多孔结构，其表面具有高密度的微米级孔隙，而体内则具有海绵状的多孔网络。独特的表面形态赋予了优异的疏水性，其水接触角为156.6°±0.9。连接表面和主体的相互连接通道约为21 nm，可产生超过10 bar的强大液体进入压力，确保超过7天的无泄漏运行。此外，在模拟ECMO电路中，高密度的表面孔隙促进了156 ml min - 1 m - 2的氧传递速率，标志着pmp基膜的最高报告值之一。
{"title":"Poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) membranes prepared by mixed solvent phase separation with superior omniphobicity for high-performance extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)","authors":"Reham Al Nuaimi , Roshni Lilly Thankamony , Jean-Pierre Benjamin Boross de Levay , Bingbing Yuan , Mansour M. Aldehaiman , Jasmeen S. Merzaban , Zhiping Lai","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Membrane wetting poses a critical barrier to the long-term performance and safety of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) systems. To address this challenge, here we report the fabrication of highly hydrophobic and porous poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) membranes using a mixed solvent phase separation (MSPS) method. This strategy enables a streamlined, one-step fabrication process at moderate temperatures (≤ 65°C), effectively overcoming the processing limitations of traditional PMP membranes. The resulting membrane exhibits a hierarchical porous architecture, featuring a high density of micrometer-scale pores on the surface and a sponge-like porous network within the bulk. The distinctive surface morphology imparts exceptional omniphobicity, with a water contact angle of 156.6° ± 0.9. The interconnected channels bridging the surface and the bulk were found to be around 21 nm, which generates a robust liquid entry pressure exceeding 10 bars, ensuring leak-free operation for more than 7 days. Furthermore, the high-density surface pores facilitate an outstanding oxygen transfer rate of 156 ml min<sup>−1</sup> m<sup>−2</sup> in a mock ECMO circuit, marking one of the highest reported values for PMP-based membranes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 125008"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145692604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-02DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125004
V.D. Ruleva , K.V. Brizhan , N.D. Pismenskaya , M.A. Ponomar , M.V. Sharafan , K.G. Sabbatovskiy , C. Jiang , Y. Wang , T. Xu , V.V. Nikonenko
Electroconvection enhances mass transfer in electrodialysis, which allows reducing the area of expensive membranes. It is commonly believed that a significant increase in mass transfer can only be achieved through nonequilibrium electroconvection developing at overlimiting currents. However, Rubinstein and Zaltzman recently predicted theoretically that equilibrium electroconvection becomes unstable under certain conditions, and this can potentially cause an increase in mass transfer. In this work, this effect is investigated experimentally using three different anion-exchange membranes and two electrolytes (KCl and LiCl). It was found that an increase in the electrolyte concentration (from 0.02 M to 0.75 M) in the concentrate compartment of an electrodialysis cell leads to an increase in the limiting current by up to 37 %, provided that the solution in the diluate compartment has a constant concentration (0.02 M). This increase significantly exceeds the value that could be expected due to the increase in coion electrodiffusion transport through the membrane caused by the concentration increase in the concentrate compartment (<6 %). It is established that the replacement of KCl with LiCl leads to earlier transition to unstable equilibrium electroconvection and more effective solution mixing. The presence of structural heterogeneities in membranes and an increase in zeta potential also contribute to enhancement of electroconvection.
{"title":"Impact of membrane and electrolyte properties on the intensity of equilibrium electroconvection in electrodialysis","authors":"V.D. Ruleva , K.V. Brizhan , N.D. Pismenskaya , M.A. Ponomar , M.V. Sharafan , K.G. Sabbatovskiy , C. Jiang , Y. Wang , T. Xu , V.V. Nikonenko","doi":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.memsci.2025.125004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electroconvection enhances mass transfer in electrodialysis, which allows reducing the area of expensive membranes. It is commonly believed that a significant increase in mass transfer can only be achieved through nonequilibrium electroconvection developing at overlimiting currents. However, Rubinstein and Zaltzman recently predicted theoretically that equilibrium electroconvection becomes unstable under certain conditions, and this can potentially cause an increase in mass transfer. In this work, this effect is investigated experimentally using three different anion-exchange membranes and two electrolytes (KCl and LiCl). It was found that an increase in the electrolyte concentration (from 0.02 M to 0.75 M) in the concentrate compartment of an electrodialysis cell leads to an increase in the limiting current by up to 37 %, provided that the solution in the diluate compartment has a constant concentration (0.02 M). This increase significantly exceeds the value that could be expected due to the increase in coion electrodiffusion transport through the membrane caused by the concentration increase in the concentrate compartment (<6 %). It is established that the replacement of KCl with LiCl leads to earlier transition to unstable equilibrium electroconvection and more effective solution mixing. The presence of structural heterogeneities in membranes and an increase in zeta potential also contribute to enhancement of electroconvection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":368,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Membrane Science","volume":"741 ","pages":"Article 125004"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145692607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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