Pebax‐Based Membrane Filled with Two‐Dimensional Mxene Nanosheets for Efficient CO2 Capture

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) made from inorganic fillers and polymers is a kind of promising candidate for gas separation. In this work, two‐dimensional MXene nanosheets were synthesized and incorporated into a polyether‐polyamide block copolymer (Pebax) matrix to fabricate MMM for CO₂ capture. The physicochemical properties of MXene nanosheets and MXene/Pebax membranes were studied systematically. The introduction of MXene nanosheets provided additional molecular transport channels and meanwhile enhanced the CO₂ adsorption capacity, thereby enhancing both the CO₂ peremance and CO₂/N₂ selectivity of Pebax membrane. The optimized MXene/Pebax membrane with a MXene loading of 0.15 wt % displayed a high separation performance with a CO₂ permeance of 21.6 GPU and a CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 72.5, showing potential application in CO₂ capture.     

Graphene Oxide Membranes with Heterogeneous Nanodomains for Efficient CO2 Separations

Achieving high membrane performance in terms of gas permeance and carbon dioxide selectivity is an important target in carbon capture. Aiming to manipulate the channel affinity towards CO₂ to implement efficient separations, gas separation membranes containing CO₂‐philic and non‐CO₂‐philic nanodomains in the interlayer channels of graphene oxide (GO) were formed by intercalating poly(ethylene glycol) diamines (PEGDA). PEGDA reacts with epoxy groups on the GO surface, constructing CO₂‐philic nanodomains and rendering a high sorption capacity, whereas unreacted GO surfaces give non‐CO₂‐philic nanodomains, rendering low‐friction diffusion. Owing to the orderly stacking of nanochannels through cross‐linking and the heterogeneous nanodomains with moderate CO₂ affinity, a GO‐PEGDA500 membrane exhibits a high CO₂ permeance of 175.5 GPU and a CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 69.5, which is the highest performance reported for dry‐state GO‐stacking membranes.     

Efficient CO2 Capture and Photoreduction by Amine‐Functionalized TiO2

Amine‐functionalization of TiO₂ nanoparticles, through a solvothermal approach, substantially increases the affinity of CO₂ on TiO₂ surfaces through chemisorption. This chemisorption allows for more effective activation of CO₂ and charge transfer from excited TiO₂, and significantly enhances the photocatalytic rate of CO₂ reduction into methane and CO.     

Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Modified with Single‐Domain Antibodies for Rapid and Efficient Capture of Cells

Peripheral blood can provide valuable information on an individual’s immune status. Cell‐based assays typically target leukocytes and their products. Characterization of leukocytes from whole blood requires their separation from the far more numerous red blood cells. 1 Current methods to classify leukocytes, such as recovery on antibody‐coated beads or fluorescence‐activated cell sorting require long sample preparation times and relatively large sample volumes. 2 A simple method that enables the characterization of cells from a small peripheral whole blood sample could overcome limitations of current analytical techniques. We describe the development of a simple graphene oxide surface coated with single‐domain antibody fragments. This format allows quick and efficient capture of distinct WBC subpopulations from small samples (～30 μL) of whole blood in a geometry that does not require any specialized equipment such as cell sorters or microfluidic devices.     

Amine‐Appended Hierarchical Ca‐A Zeolite for Enhancing CO2/CH4 Selectivity of Mixed‐Matrix Membranes

An amine‐appended hierarchical Ca‐A zeolite that can selectively capture CO₂ was synthesized and incorporated into inexpensive membrane polymers, in particular polyethylene oxide and Matrimid, to design mixed‐matrix membranes with high CO₂/CH₄ selectivities. Binary mixture permeation testing reveals that amine‐appended mesoporous Ca‐A is highly effective in improving CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of polymeric membranes. In particular, the CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of the polyethylene oxide membrane increases from 15 to 23 by incorporating 20 wt % amine‐appended Ca‐A zeolite. Furthermore, the formation of filler/polymer interfacial defects, which is typically found in glassy polymer‐zeolite pairs, is inhibited owing to the interaction between the amine groups on the external surface of zeolites and polymer chains. Our results suggest that the amine‐appended hierarchial Ca‐A, which was utilized in membrane fabrication for the first time, is a good filler material for fabricating a CO₂‐selective mixed‐matrix membrane with defect‐free morphology.     

Efficient CO2 Removal for Ultra‐Pure CO Production by Two Hybrid Ultramicroporous Materials

Removal of CO₂ from CO gas mixtures is a necessary but challenging step during production of ultra‐pure CO as processed from either steam reforming of hydrocarbons or CO₂ reduction. Herein, two hybrid ultramicroporous materials (HUMs), SIFSIX‐3‐Ni and TIFSIX‐2‐Cu‐i , which are known to exhibit strong affinity for CO₂, were examined with respect to their performance for this separation. The single‐gas CO sorption isotherms of these HUMs were measured for the first time and are indicative of weak affinity for CO and benchmark CO₂/CO selectivity (>4000 for SIFSIX‐3‐Ni ). This prompted us to conduct dynamic breakthrough experiments and compare performance with other porous materials. Ultra‐pure CO (99.99 %) was thereby obtained from CO gas mixtures containing both trace (1 %) and bulk (50 %) levels of CO₂ in a one‐step physisorption‐based separation process.     

Boron‐Functionalized Graphene Oxide‐Organic Frameworks for Highly Efficient CO2 Capture

The capture and storage of CO₂ have been suggested as an effective strategy to reduce the global emissions of greenhouse gases. Hence, in recent years, many studies have been carried out to develop highly efficient materials for capturing CO₂. Until today, different types of porous materials, such as zeolites, porous carbons, N/B‐doped porous carbons or metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs), have been studied for CO₂ capture. Herein, the CO₂ capture performance of new hybrid materials, graphene‐organic frameworks (GOFs) is described. The GOFs were synthesized under mild conditions through a solvothermal process using graphene oxide (GO) as a starting material and benzene 1,4‐diboronic acid as an organic linker. Interestingly, the obtained GOF shows a high surface area (506 m² g⁻¹) which is around 11 times higher than that of GO (46 m² g⁻¹), indicating that the organic modification on the GO surface is an effective way of preparing a porous structure using GO. Our synthetic approach is quite simple, facile, and fast, compared with many other approaches reported previously. The synthesized GOF exhibits a very large CO₂ capacity of 4.95 mmol g⁻¹ at 298 K (1 bar), which is higher those of other porous materials or carbon‐based materials, along with an excellent CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 48.8.     

A Graphene Oxide Membrane with Highly Selective Molecular Separation of Aqueous Organic Solution

A graphene oxide (GO) membrane is supported on a ceramic hollow fiber prepared by a vacuum suction method. This GO membrane exhibited excellent water permeation for dimethyl carbonate/water mixtures through a pervaporation process. At 25 °C and 2.6 wt % feed water content, the permeate water content reached 95.2 wt % with a high permeation flux (1702 g m^?2 h^?1).     

Shedding Light Onto the Nature of Iron Decorated Graphene and Graphite Oxide Nanohybrids for CO2 Conversion at Atmospheric Pressure

We report on the design and testing of new graphite and graphene oxide-based extended π-conjugated synthetic scaffolds for applications in sustainable chemistry transformations. Nanoparticle-functionalised carbonaceous catalysts for new Fischer Tropsch and Reverse GasWater Shift (RGWS) transformations were prepared: functional graphene oxides emerged from graphite powders via an adapted Hummer's method and subsequently impregnated with uniform-sized nanoparticles. Then the resulting nanomaterials were imaged by TEM, SEM, EDX, AFM and characterised by IR, XPS and Raman spectroscopies prior to incorporation of Pd(II) promoters and further microscopic and spectroscopic analysis. Newly synthesised 2D and 3D layered nanostructures incorporating carbon-supported iron oxide nanoparticulate pre-catalysts were tested, upon hydrogen reduction in situ, for the conversion of CO₂ to CO as well as for the selective formation of CH₄ and longer chain hydrocarbons. The reduction reaction was also carried out and the catalytic species isolated and fully characterised. The catalytic activity of a graphene oxide-supported iron oxide pre-catalyst converted CO₂ into hydrocarbons at different temperatures (305, 335, 370 and 405 °C), and its activity compared well with that of the analogues supported on graphite oxide, the 3-dimensional material precursor to the graphene oxide. Investigation into the use of graphene oxide as a framework for catalysis showed that it has promising activity with respect to reverse gas water shift (RWGS) reaction of CO₂ to CO, even at the low levels of catalyst used and under the rather mild conditions employed at atmospheric pressure. Whilst the γ-Fe₂O₃ decorated graphene oxide-based pre-catalyst displays fairly constant activity up to 405 °C, it was found by GC-MS analysis to be unstable with respect to decomposition at higher temperatures. The addition of palladium as a promoter increased the activity of the iron functionalised graphite oxide in the RWGS. The activity of graphene oxide supported catalysts was found to be enhanced with respect to that of iron-functionalised graphite oxide with, or without palladium as a promoter, and comparable to that of Fe@carbon nanotube-based systems tested under analogous conditions. These results display a significant step forward for the catalytic activity estimations for the iron functionalised and rapidly processable and scalable graphene oxide. The hereby investigated phenomena are of particular relevance for the understanding of the intimate surface morphologies and the potential role of non-covalent interactions in the iron oxide-graphene oxide networks, which could inform the design of nano-materials with performance in future sustainable catalysis applications.     

Highly Efficient Nitric Oxide Capture by Azole‐Based Ionic Liquids through Multiple‐Site Absorption

A novel method for highly efficient nitric oxide absorption by azole‐based ionic liquid was reported. The NO absorption capacity reached up to 4.52 mol per mol ionic liquid and is significant higher than the capacity other traditional absorbents. Moreover, the absorption of NO by this ionic liquid was reversible. Through a combination of experimental absorption, quantum chemical calculation, NMR and FT‐IR spectroscopic investigation, the results indicated that such high capacity originated from multiple‐site interactions between NO and the anion through the formation of NONOate with the chemical formula R¹R²N?(NO^?)?N=O, where R¹ and R² are alkyl groups. We believe that this highly efficient and reversible NO absorption by an azole‐based ionic liquid paves a new way for gas capture and utilization.     

Triptycene‐Based Microporous Polymer with Pending Tetrazole Moieties for CO2‐Capture Application

Triptycene‐based micorporous polymer is functionalized with CO₂‐philic tetrazole moieties via ZnCl₂‐catalyzed post‐polymerization. Gas adsorption experiments indicate that it possesses high CO₂ uptake capacity, reaching 134 cm³ g⁻¹ (26.5 wt%) at 1.0 bar and 273 K, along with high selectivity towards CO₂ over N₂ and CH₄. The porous polymeric networks present the promising potentials as efficient adsorbents in clean energy applications.

     

氧化石墨烯分离膜机械性能调控

氧化石墨烯(Graphene oxide,GO)片层组装制备的分离膜,具有可调控的纳米通道和独特的分离性能,是一种很有前景的分离材料,但较差的机械性能制约了其实际应用.将活性分子、阳离子等粒子引入到GO膜的片层间,利用其与GO形成的稳定键合可提高GO膜的机械性能.本文综述了国内外在GO膜机械性能调控方面的研究进展.依据...     

Laminar Graphene Oxide Membranes Towards Selective Ionic and Molecular Separations: Challenges and Progress

Resolution of resources and environmental crises requires an efficient separation technologies, consequently, scientists and engineers are working vigorously for ideal separation materials. Laminar graphene oxide (GO) is a two‐dimensional (2D) material offers considerable interest in this field due to its single atomic layer thickness, good stability, chemical inertness, and variety of functional groups. Recently, GO have emerged as a novel membrane material for molecular and ionic separation of gases, solvent, water, and desalination applications. This tutorial review aims to discuss the various approaches used to control the stacking of GO‐based membrane with emphasis of advantages and drawbacks associated with each approach. Further, attention will also be given to describe the recent progress in GO based membranes for ionic and molecular separations. Meanwhile, challenges and opportunities will also be discussed in detail. We hope this review expected to provide a compact source of information that will be of great interest to chemists, material scientists, physicists, and engineers working or planning to work in GO based membranes for separation applications.     

Investigation of Sulfonated Graphene Oxide as the Base Material for Novel Proton Exchange Membranes

This work deals with the development of graphene oxide (GO)-based self-assembling membranes as possible innovative proton conductors to be used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Nowadays, the most adopted electrolyte is Chemours’ Nafion; however, it reveals significant deficiencies such as strong dehydration at high temperature and low humidity, which drastically reduces its proton conductivity. The presence of oxygenated moieties in the GO framework makes it suitable for functionalization, which is required to enhance the promising, but insufficient, proton-carrying features of GO. In this study, sulfonic acid groups (–SO₃H) that should favor proton transport were introduced in the membrane structure via a reaction between GO and concentrated sulfuric acid. Six acid-to-GO molar ratios were adopted in the synthesis procedure, giving rise to final products with different sulfonation degrees. All the prepared samples were characterized by means of TGA, ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, temperature-dependent XRD, SEM and EDX, which pointed out morphological and microstructural changes resulting from the functionalization stage, confirming its effectiveness. Regarding functional features, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) as well as measurements of ion exchange capacity (IEC) were carried out to describe the behavior of the various samples, with pristine GO and commercial Nafion^® 212 used as reference. EIS tests were performed at five different temperatures (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 °C) under high (95%) and medium (42%) relative humidity conditions. Compared to both GO and Nafion^® 212, the sulfonated specimens demonstrate an increase in the number of ion-carrying groups, as proved by both IEC and EIS tests, which reveal the enhanced proton conductivity of these novel membranes. Specifically, an acid-to-GO molar ratio of 10 produces a six-fold improvement of IEC (4.23 meq g⁻¹) with respect to pure GO (0.76 meq g⁻¹), while a maximum eight-fold improvement (5.72 meq g⁻¹) is achieved in SGO-15.     

Hypercrosslinked Additives for Ageless Gas‐Separation Membranes

The loss of internal pores, a process known as physical aging, inhibits the long‐term use of the most promising gas‐separation polymers. Previously we reported that a porous aromatic framework (PAF‐1) could form a remarkable nanocomposite with gas‐separation polymers to stop aging. However, PAF‐1 synthesis is very onerous both from a reagent and reaction‐condition perspective, making it difficult to scale‐up. We now reveal a highly dispersible and scalable additive based on α,α′‐dichloro‐p‐xylene (p‐DCX), that inhibits aging more effectively, and crucially almost doubles gas‐transport selectivity. These synergistic effects are related to the intimately mixed nanocomposite that is formed though the high dispersibility of p‐DCX in the gas‐separation polymer. This reduces particle‐size effects and the internal free volume is almost unchanged over time. This study shows this inexpensive and scalable polymer additive delivers exceptional gas‐transport performance and selectivity.