Zhao Yuanyuan, Wang Jin, Kong Xiang-Yu, Xin Weiwen, Zhou Teng, Qian Yongchao, Yang Linsen, Pang Jinhui, Jiang Lei, Wen Liping
CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
Key Laboratory of Super Engineering Plastic of Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
Natl Sci Rev. 2020 Aug;7(8):1349-1359. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa057. Epub 2020 Apr 2.
The membrane-based reverse electrodialysis (RED) technique has a fundamental role in harvesting clean and sustainable osmotic energy existing in the salinity gradient. However, the current designs of membranes cannot cope with the high output power density and robustness. Here, we construct a sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) nanochannel membrane with numerous nanochannels for a membrane-based osmotic power generator. The parallel nanochannels with high space charges show excellent cation-selectivity, which could further be improved by adjusting the length and charge density of nanochannels. Based on numerical simulation, the system with space charge shows better conductivity and selectivity than those of a surface-charged nanochannel. The output power density of our proposed membrane-based device reaches up to 5.8 W/m by mixing artificial seawater and river water. Additionally, the SPEEK membranes exhibit good mechanical properties, endowing the possibility of creating a high-endurance scale-up membrane-based generator system. We believe that this work provides useful insights into material design and fluid transport for the power generator in osmotic energy conversion.
基于膜的反向电渗析（RED）技术在获取盐度梯度中存在的清洁且可持续的渗透能方面具有重要作用。然而，目前的膜设计无法满足高输出功率密度和鲁棒性的要求。在此，我们构建了一种具有众多纳米通道的磺化聚醚醚酮（SPEEK）纳米通道膜，用于基于膜的渗透能发生器。具有高空间电荷的平行纳米通道表现出优异的阳离子选择性，通过调整纳米通道的长度和电荷密度可进一步提高该选择性。基于数值模拟，具有空间电荷的系统比表面带电的纳米通道具有更好的导电性和选择性。通过混合人工海水和河水，我们所提出的基于膜的装置的输出功率密度高达5.8 W/m²。此外，SPEEK膜表现出良好的机械性能，为创建高耐久性的规模化基于膜的发电系统提供了可能性。我们相信这项工作为渗透能转换中发电机的材料设计和流体传输提供了有益的见解。
