Liu Xueyuan, Wu Huiqing, Wu Peiyi
Key Laboratory of Science & Technology of Eco-Textile, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Center for Advanced Low-Dimension Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
National Innovation Center of Advanced Dyeing and Finishing Technology, Tai'an, Shandong 271000, China.
Nano Lett. 2022 Apr 13;22(7):3077-3086. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c00423. Epub 2022 Mar 28.
Highly permselective and durable membranes are desirable for massive separation applications. However, currently most membranes prepared using nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) suffer from low permeability and a high fouling tendency due to the great challenges in a rational design and also practical approach for membrane optimization. Inspired by the natural Murray network from vascular plants, we developed a hierarchical membrane via a straightforward yet robust strategy, using isocyanate as a multifunctional additive. Thanks to the integrated functions of a phase separation regulator, blowing agent, cross-linker, and functionalization anchor of isocyanate, our strategy is featured as a perfect combination of a phase separation and chemical reaction, and it enables synchronous engineering of the membrane hierarchy on porosity and components. The representative membrane exhibits superior water permeance (334 L/m·h·bar), protein retention (>98%), and antifouling ability (flux recover ratio ∼ 98%). This work highlights a versatile path for pursuing a highly enhanced performance of NIPS-made membranes, from the fancy perspective of Murray bionics.
对于大规模分离应用而言，高度选择性渗透且耐用的膜是理想之选。然而，目前大多数采用非溶剂诱导相分离（NIPS）制备的膜，由于在合理设计以及膜优化的实际方法方面面临巨大挑战，存在渗透率低和高污染倾向的问题。受维管植物天然默里网络的启发，我们通过一种直接而稳健的策略，使用异氰酸酯作为多功能添加剂，开发出了一种分级膜。得益于异氰酸酯作为相分离调节剂、发泡剂、交联剂和功能化锚定剂的综合功能，我们的策略以相分离与化学反应的完美结合为特色，并且能够在孔隙率和组分方面对膜的层级结构进行同步工程设计。代表性的膜表现出优异的水渗透率（334 L/m·h·bar）、蛋白质截留率（>98%）和抗污染能力（通量恢复率约为98%）。这项工作从默里仿生学这一奇特的角度，为追求大幅提升NIPS制备的膜的性能开辟了一条通用途径。
