Issue 18, 2024

Spontaneous and rapid electrostatic solvent nanofiltration based on a conductive layered membrane

Abstract

Separating water from miscible organic solvents could significantly reduce the environmental impact of solvent waste, improve solvent purification and help recycling. Yet, it remains energy- and cost-intensive. Herein, we demonstrate an electrostatic solvent nanofiltration (ESN) method that can separate water from a variety of miscible solvents with high flux and negligible energy consumption. The method utilizes the dramatic difference in electrical response between water and organic matter. By using a conductive, non-permeable layered membrane with molecular narrow channels, we can selectively switch on the spontaneous permeation for water using a low-power (10−1 W m−2) electrical bias. As a result, water permeated at a flux of a few L m−2 h−1 under the pressure of its own gravity. The flux is comparable to the state-of-art pervaporation membranes while the specific energy consumption is negligible. Thanks to the poor electrical response of organics, during the ESN of a miscible mixture containing water, acetone, n-butanol, and iso-butanol, the rejection rate reached 99.64% for acetone, 96.38% for n-butanol, and 98.33% for iso-butanol. We expect our work to advance the separation and recycling of solvents by exploiting their different physical properties on the molecular scale.

Graphical abstract: Spontaneous and rapid electrostatic solvent nanofiltration based on a conductive layered membrane

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
18 Mar 2024
Accepted
26 Jul 2024
First published
29 Jul 2024

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2024,11, 5876-5883

Spontaneous and rapid electrostatic solvent nanofiltration based on a conductive layered membrane

S. Song, H. Sun, J. Xia, S. Bao, W. Ding, N. Liu, T. Wang, K. Sui, J. Gao, X. Liu and L. Jiang, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2024, 11, 5876 DOI: 10.1039/D4QI00697F

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