Acid‐Resistance and Self‐Repairing Supramolecular Nanoparticle Membranes via Hydrogen‐Bonding for Sustainable Molecules Separation

Abstract

Functional membranes generally wear out when applying in harsh conditions such as a strong acidic environment. In this work, high acid-resistance, long-lasting, and low-cost functional membranes are prepared from engineered hydrogen-bonding and pH-responsive supramolecular nanoparticle materials. As a proof of concept, the prepared membranes for dehydration of alcohols are utilized. The synthesized membranes have achieved a separation factor of 3000 when changing the feed solution pH from 7 to 1. No previous reports have demonstrated such unprecedentedly high-record separation performance (pervaporation separation index is around 1.1 × 10 7 g m −2 h −1 ). More importantly, the engineered smart membrane possesses fast self-repairing ability (48 h) that is inherited from the dynamic hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups of polyacrylic acid and carbonyl groups of polyvinylpyrrolidone. To this end, the designed supramolecular materials offer the membrane community a new material type for preparing high acid resistance and long-lasting membranes for harsh environmental cleaning applications.

Supramolecular polymeric prodrug micelles for efficient anticancer drug delivery

“…Recently, various kinds of non-covalent connections such as hydrogen bonding, 12–15 metal–ligand interaction, 16–18 electrostatic interaction 19–22 and host–guest recognition 23–27 have been employed to construct supramolecular systems for various potential applications. In order to promote the clinical application of polymeric prodrugs, it is promising to construct polymeric prodrugs through strong non-covalent interactions, which could combine the advantages of polymeric carriers and small molecular prodrugs.…”

A biomimetic closed-loop recyclable, long-term durable, extreme-condition resistant, flame-retardant nanocoating synthesized by reversible flocculation assembly

“…42 Under neutral conditions, the carbonyl peak underwent a slight red shift from 1663 cm −1 to 1655 cm −1 , which was evidence of flocculation assembly due to the hydrogen bond complex between PAM and sepiolite. 43 In contrast, the system contained plenty of carboxylate groups under alkaline conditions, leading to electrostatic repulsion rather than flocculation. 44 Furthermore, unlike the complexation of PAM/SEP under neutral conditions (Fig.…”

Supramolecular assemblies of polybenzimidazole and aromatic polycarboxylic acids with superior mechanical and H2/CO2 separation properties

“…Recently, dynamic cross-linking of polymers using noncovalent bonds such as reversible hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) to form supramolecular assemblies has attracted signicant interest because it can improve stiffness and molecular separation properties without signicantly reducing extensibility and toughness. [21][22][23] For example, PBI was doped with inorganic polyprotic acids, including phosphoric acids (H 3 PO 4 ), sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ), and pyrophosphoric acid (H 4 P 2 O 7 , PpA), 5,24 and aliphatic polycarboxylic acids, including oxalic acid (C 2 H 2 O 4 , OA) and trans-aconitic acid (C 6 H 6 O 6 , TaA). 25 These acids form multiple H-bonds with imidazoles on PBI backbones, effectively decreasing the free volume and H 2 permeability but signicantly increasing the H 2 /CO 2 selectivity.…”