2D Graphene Oxide‐Polyelectrolytes Composite Membranes with Enhanced Ion Sieving for Nanofluidic Energy Generation

2D nanofluidic membranes, with their nano-structured lamella architecture, offer effective control over ion transport, making them promising candidates for osmotic energy harvesting based on electrolyte concentration gradients. However, low-concentration electrolytes increase internal resistance, which leads to reduced output power, thereby limiting the practical application of nanofluidic energy generators. In this study, a high-power nanofluidic energy generator is proposed by replacing the low-concentration electrolytes with the high-concentration divalent electrolytes. Here, oppositely charged graphene oxide (GO)-polyelectrolytes composite membranes produce a high membrane potential by selectively allowing the transport of a single ionic species among various ions, such as biological ion channels. By modifying GO with polyelectrolytes to increase surface charge density and applying additional mild heating to adjust the interlayer spacing, ion sieving properties of the GO membranes are enhanced. As a result, the cation-selective membrane achieved a K⁺/Mg<sup>2</sup>⁺ selectivity ratio of 41.6, while the anion-selective membrane attained a Cl⁻/SO₄<sup>2</sup>⁻ selectivity ratio of 30.8. The energy device using the GO-polyelectrolyte membrane pairs achieved a power density of 5.49 W m⁻<sup>2</sup> under a 50-fold concentration gradient of NaCl, which is further improved to 9.48 W m⁻<sup>2</sup> in a system utilizing high-concentration divalent ions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Small
Published
2025-04-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202412071
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.35

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article

2D Graphene Oxide‐Polyelectrolytes Composite Membranes with Enhanced Ion Sieving for Nanofluidic Energy Generation

Chang‐Soo Han, Jongwoon Kim, Heejoon Chae
2 citations
Small
Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies
1.35
article

2D Graphene Oxide‐Polyelectrolytes Composite Membranes with Enhanced Ion Sieving for Nanofluidic Energy Generation

Chang‐Soo Han, Jongwoon Kim, Heejoon Chae
article en
2 citations

Abstract

2D nanofluidic membranes, with their nano-structured lamella architecture, offer effective control over ion transport, making them promising candidates for osmotic energy harvesting based on electrolyte concentration gradients. However, low-concentration electrolytes increase internal resistance, which leads to reduced output power, thereby limiting the practical application of nanofluidic energy generators. In this study, a high-power nanofluidic energy generator is proposed by replacing the low-concentration electrolytes with the high-concentration divalent electrolytes. Here, oppositely charged graphene oxide (GO)-polyelectrolytes composite membranes produce a high membrane potential by selectively allowing the transport of a single ionic species among various ions, such as biological ion channels. By modifying GO with polyelectrolytes to increase surface charge density and applying additional mild heating to adjust the interlayer spacing, ion sieving properties of the GO membranes are enhanced. As a result, the cation-selective membrane achieved a K⁺/Mg<sup>2</sup>⁺ selectivity ratio of 41.6, while the anion-selective membrane attained a Cl⁻/SO₄<sup>2</sup>⁻ selectivity ratio of 30.8. The energy device using the GO-polyelectrolyte membrane pairs achieved a power density of 5.49 W m⁻<sup>2</sup> under a 50-fold concentration gradient of NaCl, which is further improved to 9.48 W m⁻<sup>2</sup> in a system utilizing high-concentration divalent ions.

SmallVol. 21(21)
Korea University (KR)
National Research Foundation, Korea Basic Science Institute, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 21%
Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies
1.35
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