Ultrafast Interfacial Self‐Assembly toward Supramolecular Metal‐Organic Films for Water Desalination

Abstract

Supramolecular metal‐organic materials are considered as the ideal candidates for membrane fabrication due to their excellent film forming characteristics, diverse metal centers and ligand sources, and designable structure and function. However, it remains challenging to rapidly construct highly permeable supramolecular metal‐organic membranes with high salt rejection. Herein, a novel ultrafast interfacial self‐assembly strategy to prepare supramolecular metal‐organic films through the strong coordination interaction between highly active 1,3,5‐triformylphloroglucinol (TFP) ligands and Fe3+, Sc3+, or Cu2+ at the organic–aqueous interface is reported. Benefiting from the self‐completing and self‐limiting characteristics of this interfacial self‐assembly, the new kind of supramolecular membrane with optimized composition can be assembled within 3.5 min and exhibits ultrathin, dense, defect‐free features, and thus shows an excellent water permeance (21.5 L m–2 h–1 bar–1) with a high Na2SO4 rejection above 95%, which outperforms almost all of the non‐polyamide membranes and commercially available nanofiltration membranes. This strong‐coordination interfacial self‐assembly method will open up a new way for the development of functional metal‐organic supramolecular films for high‐performance membrane separation and beyond.

Catalytic template assisted interfacial polymerization for high‐performance acid‐resistant membrane preparation

“…34,35 Moreover, the absorbance of the UV-Vis of aqueous solution decreases with time, also demonstrating the faster IP reaction between ABSA and TMC in the presence of catalysts (Figure 2B). 36,37 As shown in Figures 2C and S9, the synthesized APGQD nanoparticles have a typical zero-dimensional morphology of quantum dots, and the controlled size of 50-80 nm enables their excellent dispersibility in water while also being homogeneously and firmly loaded on the porous substrate without leakage (Figures S8B,C and S10). Moreover, the fluorescence of APGQD nanoparticles shown in CLSM images further proves its uniform distribution on the surface even after the etching process (Figure S11).…”

Fast Interfacial Polymerization for Stabilizing Emulsion Droplets with Polymer Films beyond Emulsifiers

“…However, as the polymerization time can extend up to 30 min, the amphiphilic monomer used is necessary for maintaining droplet stability prior to the formation of the interface film. In contrast, Zhang and co-workers reported the ultrafast interfacial supramolecular polymerization, albeit with the participation of 2.0 wt% PVA as emulsifiers (Figure b–d) . By using the strong coordination interaction between the oil-soluble 1,3,5-triformylchloroglucinol (TFP) and water-soluble multivalent metal ions (Fe 3+ , Sc 3+ , and Cu 2+ ), a layer of coordination crosslinked supramolecular metal organic nanofilm was formed on the surface of the droplet, and the rapid construction of the steric barrier was successfully realized.…”

Colloidal 2D Covalent Organic Framework-Tailored Nanofiltration Membranes for Precise Molecular Sieving

“…Due to the charge compensation in the PAH/PSS multilayer, the Mg 2+ rejection of the prepared LBL membrane is as high as 95% . However, the LBL assembly of electrostatically composite multilayers reduces porosity and limits permeance, which poses great challenges to the application of NF membranes. , Microporous framework materials have attracted more and more attention for their large porosity, , which are highly promising to achieve a high permeable-selective NF membrane.…”