封面图片
2023年, 第17卷 第3期
Membrane separation is a promising method for producing clean and renewable bio-ethanol, and there is a high demand for membrane selectively permeating ethanol or water molecules. Two-dimensional graphene is emerging as a promising membrane candidate owing to its atomic-thick structure. Through molecular simulation study, Quan Liu and co-workers reveal a novel two-way selective mechanism in graphene-based membranes that allows for customizable separation of ethanol/water mixtures. Pristine graphene membranes contain hydrophobic carbon rings that selectively attract ethanol molecules, resulting in ethanol-enriched pores and water-repelling pores. On the other hand, hydroxylated graphene, which contains polar functional groups, preferentially filters water molecules through a combination of functional-group attraction and molecular sieving effect. Simulation under operando conditions shows that the pristine graphene with a properly-sized aperture achieves exceptional ethanol-perm-selective separation. These findings provide new insights into reverse-selective behavior and pave the way for designing two-dimensional-material membranes for biofuel production. (Quan Liu, Xian Wang, Yanan Guo, Gongping Liu, Kai-Ge Zhou, pp. 347–357)[展开] ...
ISSN 2095-0179 (Print)
ISSN 2095-0187 (Online)
CN 11-5981/TQ
Postal Subscription Code 80-969 Formerly Known as Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering in China 2018 Impact Factor: 2.809