Two-dimensional nanomaterial-based membranes have attracted tremendous interest in separation science because of their uniform transport channels, selectivity, permeability, and flexibility. Membranes derived from graphene family and chalcogenide materials are widely applied for water treatment studies; however, these represent only a fraction of the available layered materials. In contrast, phyllosilicate minerals have only begun to be explored in this field and offer complementary physico-chemical properties. Vermiculite is an economical phyllosilicate with a global production of 0.5 million tons per year. We fabricate free-standing vermiculite membranes and insert different molecular crosslinkers during the vermiculite membrane synthesis. In this way, the interlayer spacing can be tuned precisely. The interlayer-spacing-controlled strategy produces vermiculite membranes with tunable water permeance and ion diffusivity, which provides a promising pathway for systematic separation science studies as well as membrane-based water and energy applications.

Tuning interlayer spacing of 2-D vermiculite membranes for selective ion transport

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.