Traditional techniques for hydrogen isotope separation are energy intensive, require low temperatures, a large footprint, or some combination of the three. Recent work has shown that 2-D materials such as graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) can act as an isotopic sieve and, thus, provide a means of efficiently separating hydrogen isotopes. In one study Lozada-Hidalgo, et <i>al</i>. demonstrated successful separation of protium (H) and deuterium (D) in the aqueous phase, with separation factors on the order of 10:1. In practice the device operates as a simple electrochemical pump where nuclei are driven from one side of the cell to the other, through the membrane, by an electric potential. The separation occurs due to the difference in conductivity of protons and deuterons across the 2-D material. As such, one of the key aspects in the use of 2-D materials to separate hydrogen isotopes is delivery of the ions to the membrane.  Previous work on 2-D material-based hydrogen isotope separation has focused on aqueous proton conductors. In this work we demonstrate a non-aqueous process which can be tailored for a range of conditions not accessible to aqueous devices.

Non-aqueous 2-D material based hydrogen isotope separation

ACS Fall 2021

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