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Mechanism of Ion Exclusion by Sub-2nm Carbon Nanotube Membranes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Francesco Fornasiero ,
Hyung Gyu Park ,
Jason K Holt ,
Michael Stadermann ,
Costas P Grigoropoulos ,
Alexandr Noy  and
Olgica Bakajin
Francesco Fornasiero
Affiliation:
fornasiero1@llnl.gov, LLNL, CMELS, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore CA94550, Livermore, CA, 94550, United States, 925 422 0089
Hyung Gyu Park
Affiliation:
park15@llnl.gov, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Engineering, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, United States
Jason K Holt
Affiliation:
holt14@llnl.gov, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Chemistry Materials Earth and Life Sciences, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, United States
Michael Stadermann
Affiliation:
stadermann2@llnl.gov, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Chemistry Materials Earth and Life Sciences, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, United States
Costas P Grigoropoulos
Affiliation:
cgrigoro@me.berkeley.edu, University of California at Berkeley, Mechanical Engineering, Berkeley, CA, 94720, United States
Alexandr Noy
Affiliation:
noy1@llnl.gov, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Chemistry Materials Earth and Life Sciences, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, United States
Olgica Bakajin
Affiliation:
bakajin1@llnl.gov, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Chemistry Materials Earth and Life Sciences, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, United States
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Abstract

Carbon nanotubes offer an outstanding platform for studying molecular transport at nanoscale, and have become promising materials for nanofluidics and membrane technology due to their unique combination of physical, chemical, mechanical, and electronic properties. In particular, both simulations and experiments have proved that fluid flow through carbon nanotubes of nanometer size diameter is exceptionally fast compared to what continuum hydrodynamic theories would predict when applied on this length scale, and also, compared to conventional membranes with pores of similar size, such as zeolites. For a variety of applications such as separation technology, molecular sensing, drug delivery, and biomimetics, selectivity is required together with fast flow. In particular, for water desalination, coupling the enhancement of the water flux with selective ion transport could drastically reduce the cost of brackish and seawater desalting. In this work, we study the ion selectivity of membranes made of aligned double-walled carbon nanotubes with sub-2 nm diameter. Negatively charged groups are introduced at the opening of the carbon nanotubes by oxygen plasma treatment. Reverse osmosis experiments coupled with capillary electrophoresis analysis of permeate and feed show significant anion and cation rejection. Ion exclusion declines by increasing ionic strength (concentration) of the feed and by lowering solution pH; also, the highest rejection is observed for the salts (A=anion, C=cation, z= valence) with the greatest zA/zC ratio. Our results strongly support a Donnan-type rejection mechanism, dominated by electrostatic interactions between fixed membrane charges and mobile ions, while steric and hydrodynamic effects appear to be less important. Comparison with commercial nanofiltration membranes for water softening reveals that our carbon nanotube membranes provides far superior water fluxes for similar ion rejection capabilities.

Keywords

nanostructurediffusionfluidics
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1106: Symposium PP – The Business of Nanotechnology , 2008 , 1106-PP03-03
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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