Issue 41, 2023

Development of liquid-crystalline smectic nanoporous membranes for the removal of SARS-CoV-2 and waterborne viruses

Abstract

Obtaining safe and affordable water free from bio-contaminants is a critical global issue. Filtration using polymer membranes with nanopores is a significant method for water purification. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of water-treatment membranes with ordered nanochannels, exhibiting significant virus removal properties, by fixing the assembled structures of ionic liquid-crystalline molecules via photopolymerization. Nanostructured water-permeable membranes are prepared from ionic liquid-crystalline smectic compounds composed of a rod-shaped rigid core to form two-dimensional nanochannels. The removal of viruses, including inactivated SARS-CoV-2, in a virus cocktail solution is investigated. Tuning of the smectic assembled structures is discussed from the perspective of self-assembled molecular structures. In addition, the effects of the ionic channel morphology on water permeability are examined.

Graphical abstract: Development of liquid-crystalline smectic nanoporous membranes for the removal of SARS-CoV-2 and waterborne viruses

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 May 2023
Accepted
23 Aug 2023
First published
24 Aug 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 22178-22186

Development of liquid-crystalline smectic nanoporous membranes for the removal of SARS-CoV-2 and waterborne viruses

T. Sakamoto, K. Asakura, N. Kang, R. Kato, M. Liu, T. Hayashi, H. Katayama and T. Kato, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 22178 DOI: 10.1039/D3TA02705H

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