Institution: | 1. CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 P. R. China
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 P. R. China
These authors contributed equally to this work.;2. Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P. R. China
These authors contributed equally to this work.;3. College of Biological, Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001 P. R. China;4. CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 P. R. China
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 P. R. China;5. CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 P. R. China;6. CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 P. R. China
Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P. R. China
School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 P. R. China |
Abstract: | Osmotic energy, obtained through different concentrations of salt solutions, is recognized as a form of a sustainable energy source. In the past years, membranes derived from asymmetric aromatic compounds have attracted attention because of their low cost and high performance in osmotic energy conversion. The membrane formation process, charging state, functional groups, membrane thickness, and the ion-exchange capacity of the membrane could affect the power generation performance. Among asymmetric membranes, a bipolar membrane could largely promote the ion transport. Here, two polymers with the same poly(ether sulfone) main chain but opposite charges were synthesized to prepare bipolar membranes by a nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) and spin-coating (SC) method. The maximum power density of the bipolar membrane reaches about 6.2 W m−2 under a 50-fold salinity gradient, and this result can serve as a reference for the design of bipolar membranes for osmotic energy conversion systems. |