Broadening the Gas Separation Utility of Monolayer Nanoporous Graphene Membranes by an Ionic Liquid GatingClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Wei GuoWei GuoChemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 37996 United StatesMore by Wei Guo
- Shannon M. MahurinShannon M. MahurinChemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United StatesMore by Shannon M. Mahurin
- Raymond R. UnocicRaymond R. UnocicCenter for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United StatesMore by Raymond R. Unocic
- Huimin LuoHuimin LuoEnergy and Transportation Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United StatesMore by Huimin Luo
- Sheng Dai*Sheng Dai*Email: [email protected]Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 37996 United StatesMore by Sheng Dai
Abstract

Ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) monolayer atomic crystal materials offer great potential for extending the field of novel separation technology due to their infinitesimal thickness and mechanical strength. One difficult and ongoing challenge is to perforate the 2D monolayer material with subnanometer pores with atomic precision for sieving similarly sized molecules. Here, we demonstrate the exceptional separation performance of ionic liquid (IL)/graphene hybrid membranes for challenging separation of CO2 and N2. Notably, the ultrathin ILs afford dynamic tuning of the size and chemical affinity of nanopores while preserving the high permeance of the monolayer nanoporous graphene membranes. The hybrid membrane yields a high CO2 permeance of 4000 GPU and an outstanding CO2/N2 selectivity up to 32. This rational hybrid design provides a universal direction for broadening gas separation capability of atomically thin nanoporous membranes.
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