Nano-confined controllable crystallization in supramolecular polymeric membranes for ultra-selective desalination

Innovations in self-assembly and aggregate engineering have led to membranes that better balance water permeability with salt rejection, overcoming traditional trade-offs. Here we demonstrate a strategy that uses multivalent H-bond interactions at the nano-confined space to manipulate controllable and organized crystallization. Specifically, we design amphiphilic oligomers featuring hydrophobic segments with strongly polar end-capped motifs. When spreading on air/water interfaces, the hydrophobic parts repel water, yielding an ordered alignment of supramolecular oligomers under nano-confinement, while the strongly polar sections engage in strong hydrogen bonding and reconfigure to strongly interact with water molecules, enabling the controlled assembly and orientation of nano-confined crystalline domains. This arrangement provides dual benefits: refining the distribution of pore sizes for ultra-selectivity and boosting the free volume for water permeation. Compared to counterpart oligomers with weakly polar motifs, the optimized membrane with a 6-nm thickness demonstrates the water permeability of 14.8 L m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> bar<sup>-1</sup> and extraordinary water/NaCl selectivity of more than 54 bar<sup>-1</sup> under pressure-driven condition. This study sheds light on how nano-confined self-assembly and aggregate engineering affect the architectures, functionality, and performance of polymer membranes, emphasizing the promise of controllable crystallization in ultrathin membranes for optimal desalination.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-03-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57353-0
Citations
17
Primary Topic
Membrane Separation Technologies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
13.89

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Nano-confined controllable crystallization in supramolecular polymeric membranes for ultra-selective desalination

Bart Van der Bruggen, Jun Wu, A Hubao, Jiawei Sun et al.
17 citations
Nature Communications
Membrane Separation Technologies
13.89
article

Nano-confined controllable crystallization in supramolecular polymeric membranes for ultra-selective desalination

Bart Van der Bruggen, Jun Wu, A Hubao, Jiawei Sun, Yan Zhao, Bing Dai, Xi Chen, Wentao Shang, Raf Dewil, Hengyue Xu, Alicia Kyoungjin An, Shuang Zheng, Huacheng Zhang, Gang Lü, Yuanyuan Zhao
article en
17 citations

Abstract

Innovations in self-assembly and aggregate engineering have led to membranes that better balance water permeability with salt rejection, overcoming traditional trade-offs. Here we demonstrate a strategy that uses multivalent H-bond interactions at the nano-confined space to manipulate controllable and organized crystallization. Specifically, we design amphiphilic oligomers featuring hydrophobic segments with strongly polar end-capped motifs. When spreading on air/water interfaces, the hydrophobic parts repel water, yielding an ordered alignment of supramolecular oligomers under nano-confinement, while the strongly polar sections engage in strong hydrogen bonding and reconfigure to strongly interact with water molecules, enabling the controlled assembly and orientation of nano-confined crystalline domains. This arrangement provides dual benefits: refining the distribution of pore sizes for ultra-selectivity and boosting the free volume for water permeation. Compared to counterpart oligomers with weakly polar motifs, the optimized membrane with a 6-nm thickness demonstrates the water permeability of 14.8 L m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> bar<sup>-1</sup> and extraordinary water/NaCl selectivity of more than 54 bar<sup>-1</sup> under pressure-driven condition. This study sheds light on how nano-confined self-assembly and aggregate engineering affect the architectures, functionality, and performance of polymer membranes, emphasizing the promise of controllable crystallization in ultrathin membranes for optimal desalination.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), Harbin Engineering University (CN), Jinan University (CN), City University of Hong Kong (HK), Shenzhen University (CN), Yantai University (CN), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK), Wuhan University (CN), University of Oxford (GB), Science Oxford (GB), RMIT University (AU), University of Hong Kong (HK), Tsinghua University (CN), KU Leuven (BE)
City University of Hong Kong, University of Oxford, RMIT University, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Innovation and Technology Commission, Harbin Engineering University, University of Hong Kong, Jinan University, KU Leuven, Tsinghua University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan University, Shenzhen University, State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Membrane Separation Technologies
13.89
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.