Engineering grain boundaries in monolayer molybdenum disulfide for efficient water-ion separation
Two-dimensional (2D) materials have long been considered as ideal platforms for developing separation membranes. However, it is difficult to generate uniform subnanometer pores over large areas on 2D materials. We report that the well-defined eight-membered ring (8-MR) pores, typically formed at the boundaries of two antiparallel grains of monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS<sub>2</sub>), can serve as molecular sieves for efficient water-ion separation. The density of grain boundaries and, consequently, the number of 8-MR pores can be tuned by regulating the grain size. Optimized MoS<sub>2</sub> membranes outperformed the state-of-the-art membranes in forward osmosis tests by demonstrating both ultrahigh water/sodium chloride selectivity and exceptional water permeance. Creating precise pore structures on atomically thin films through grain boundary engineering presents a promising route for producing membranes suitable for various applications.
Authors
- Guanxing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1573-4528)
- Areej Aljarb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-4600)
- Mariam Hakami (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8691-9848)
- Zhuo Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5001-5743)
- Qingxiao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1449-2478)
- Jui‐Han Fu
- Kaimin Shih (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6461-3207)
- Ingo Pinnau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3040-9088)
- Xinglong Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6478-8819)
- Cailing Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2598-1354)
- Guosheng Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4592-2856)
- Lain‐Jong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4059-7783)
- Jiacheng Min
- Yingge Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8262-1630)
- Yichen Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5414-3627)
- Vincent Tung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3230-0932)
- Kuo‐Wei Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1900-2658)
- Jie Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0263-6454)
- Chenhui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0124-6315)
- Jiaqiang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6829-1690)
- Hui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2269-320X)
- Xing Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7849-9292)
- Yu Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1462-1118)
- Xiaoqian Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8675-9311)
Institutions
- Shanghai University (CN)
- Nanjing Tech University (CN)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Chang Gung University (TW)
- King Abdulaziz University (SA)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) (SA)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- South China University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2025-02-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado7489
- Citations
- 37
- Primary Topic
- Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 24.94