A general strategy to simulate osmotic energy conversion in multi-pore nanofluidic systems

Xiao, Feilong; Ji, Danyan; Li, Hao; Tang, Jintao; Feng, Yining; Ding, Liping; Cao, Liuxuan; Li, Ning; Jiang, Lei; Guo, Wei

doi:10.1039/c8qm00031j

Cited by 56 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…We further evaluate the performance degradation in ultrathin nanoporous membranes and unveil its implication for practical use. Details about the model for multipore nanofluidic systems and the validation of the method can be found in the Supporting Information and partly in our recent works . As shown in Figure a, at low pore density (porosity ≈ 0.1%, the interpore distance is 3196 nm, Table S3, Supporting Information), the cation transfer number of ultrathin nanoporous membranes ( t + = 0.92) is very close to that obtained with single nanopores ( t + = 0.96).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 51%

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On the Origin of Ion Selectivity in Ultrathin Nanopores: Insights for Membrane‐Scale Osmotic Energy Conversion

Cao

Feng

et al. 2018

Adv Funct Materials

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118

112

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Nanopores in ultrathin or atomically thin membranes attract broad interest because the infinitesimal pore depth allows selective transport of ions and molecules with ultimate permeability. Toward large-scale osmotic energy conversion, great challenges remain in extrapolating the promising singlepore demonstration to really powerful macroscopic applications. Herein, the origin of the selective ion transport in ultrathin nanopores is systematically investigated. Based on a precise Poisson and Nernst-Planck model calculation, it is found that the generation of net diffusion current and membrane potential stems from the charge separation within the electric double layer on the outer membrane surface, rather than that on the inner pore wall. To keep the charge selectivity of the entire membrane, a critical surface charged area surrounding each pore orifice is therefore highly demanded. Otherwise, at high pore density, the membrane selectivity and the overall power density would fall down instead, which explains the giant gap between the actual experimental achievements and the single-pore estimation. To maximize the power generation, smaller nanopores (pore diameter ≈1-2 nm) are appropriate for large-scale osmotic energy conversion. With a porosity of ≈10%, the total power density approaches more than 200 W m -2 , anticipating a substantial advance toward high-performance large-scale nanofluidic power sources.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Model Parameters : 2D axisymmetric model was employed to simulate the single‐pore systems (Figure S1, Supporting Information). 2D planar model was used to simulate the multipore systems (Figure S2, Supporting Information) . In the multipore model, the calculation domain included three parallel nanopores.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Origin of Ion Selectivity in Ultrathin Nanopores: Insights for Membrane‐Scale Osmotic Energy Conversion

Cao

Feng

et al. 2018

Adv Funct Materials

Self Cite

118

112

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“…Finite‐element method was employed to solve the model with appropriate boundary conditions, following an established process. [ 56–59 ] The model channel was 2 nm high and 1 µm long. For heterogeneous nanochannels, the negatively charged (n‐part, 400 nm long, −60 mC m −2 ) and positively charged parts (p‐part, 400 nm long, 60 mC m −2 ) were connected by a 200‐nm long transition zone.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electric‐Field‐Induced Ionic Sieving at Planar Graphene Oxide Heterojunctions for Miniaturized Water Desalination

Jia

Cao

et al. 2020

Advanced Materials

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“…At high pore density, the pore-pore interaction in porous system becomes non-negligible. [32] It is noteworthy that, because of the difference between the computational model and the experimental system on the scale, the method and conclusion is qualitative rather than quantitative. In order to take the pore-pore interactions into consideration, besides the investigated nanopore (the central pore), we also calculate the diffusive ion transport through adjacent nanopores (Figure S1).…”

Section: Model Calculationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anomalous Pore‐Density Dependence in Nanofluidic Osmotic Power Generation

Tang

et al. 2018

Chin. J. Chem.

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Osmotic power generation in biomimetic nanofluidic systems has attracted considerable research interest owing to the enhanced performance and long-term stability. Towards practical applications, when extrapolating the materials from single-nanopore to multi-pore membranes, conventional viewpoint suggests that, to gain high electric power density, the porosity should be as high as possible. However, recent experimental observations show that the commonly-used linear amplification method largely overestimates the actual performance, particularly at high pore density. Herein, we provide a theoretical investigation to understand the reason. We find a counterintuitive pore-density dependence in high porosity nanofluidic systems that, once the pore density approaches more than 1×10 9 pores/cm 2 , the overall output electric power goes down with the increasing pore density. The excessively high pore density impairs the charge selectivity and induces strong ion concentration polarization, which undermines the osmotic power generation process. By optimizing the geometric size of the nanopores, the performance degradation can be effectively relieved. These findings clarify the origin of the unsatisfactory performance of the current osmotic nanofluidic power sources, and provide insights to further optimize the device.

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A general strategy to simulate osmotic energy conversion in multi-pore nanofluidic systems

Abstract: To get precise simulation for ion transport in porous nanofluidic systems, the influence of neighbouring nanopores should be seriously considered.

Cited by 56 publications

References 38 publications

On the Origin of Ion Selectivity in Ultrathin Nanopores: Insights for Membrane‐Scale Osmotic Energy Conversion

On the Origin of Ion Selectivity in Ultrathin Nanopores: Insights for Membrane‐Scale Osmotic Energy Conversion

Electric‐Field‐Induced Ionic Sieving at Planar Graphene Oxide Heterojunctions for Miniaturized Water Desalination

Anomalous Pore‐Density Dependence in Nanofluidic Osmotic Power Generation

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