The combination of atomic layer deposition and self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles and its application in high-performance gas separation membranes will be introduced in this talk. Selectively permeable membranes with high flux and selectivity are important for many applications such as water desalination, H2 purification, CO2 capture, as well as selective ion transport for fuel cell and lithium batteries. Reduced membrane thickness and precise pore size/chemistry control are the keys for achieving combined high flux and selectivity. Membranes in natural biological systems can be down to 4 nm in thickness and the pores are precisely constructed by molecular assembly, leading to unbeatable performance when compared to synthetic industrial membranes that are difficult to be fabricated with similar molecular level precision and are typically 100-1000 times thicker. ALD is a layer-by-layer deposition method that builds up a thin layer with atomic precision in structure and compositions. Here we introduce the membrane fabrication by the combination of colloidal self-assembly and a “plasma-defined” ALD process where the location of ALD modification is confined by plasma irradiation. Using this approach, hierarchically structured sub-50nm thick ultra-thin membranes with precisely defined pore size and pore surface chemistry have been successfully formed. Excellent performance in CO2 and oxygen separation was achieved.

Combination of atomic layer deposition and self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles for high-performance gas separation membranes

255th National Meeting (2018)

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