Separation Membranes Constructed from Inorganic Nanofibers by Filtration Technique

Abstract

Nanofibrous materials have been extensively investigated and used as building blocks for various nanodevices, due to their unique one-dimensional structures. Recently, novel membranes constructed by using nanofibers have been reported by various techniques. Here, we will give a critical review of our recent research on the general solution processed unique sub-3 nm thin metal hydroxide nanofibers and their application for constructing ultrathin separation membranes via filtration technique. The superior separation performances of these membranes hold the promising future for pressure-driven membrane separation processes.

Highly permeable and robust membranes assembled from block-copolymer-functionalized carbon nanotubes

“…leading to reduced flow resistance. [28] Moreover, the S4VP/CNTs nanofibers with a uniform diameter of 20 nm and narrow size distribution were utilized in this work, which implies remarkably improved rejection ability of the composite membranes can be anticipated since the selective layers were bestowed a relatively smaller pore size.…”

Hierarchical Mesoporous Metal–Organic Frameworks for Enhanced CO2 Capture

“…First, HKUST‐1 crystals and membranes were synthesized (see the Supporting Information, Figure S1) by the reaction of filtered copper hydroxide nanostrands (CHNs) layer with a solution of H 3 BTC in water/ethanol for 1 hour at room temperature (Figure S1 b) 26–28. The prepared HKUST‐1 crystals/membranes were then put into a H 3 BTC water/ethanol solution of given concentration, at a known temperature and allowed to react for an hour.…”

Ultrathin free-standing membranes from metal hydroxide nanostrands

“…Geometric calculations found the diameter of a typical gate to be 2.0 70.2 nm, assuming the space is surrounded by three 12 nm ferritin molecules. At a membrane thickness of 60 nm, the water flux through this membrane is approximately 10 times greater than the value calculated from the Hagen-Poiseuille equation for a columnar 2 nm channel, and so the length of the protein gate is estimated to be no more than 6 nm [137,138].…”