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Nano Research 2023, 16(7): 8505-8511 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5524-2
Research Article | Issue | Published: 02 March 2023

Constructing 2D ultrathin graphene oxide membranes with supramolecular-assembled nano-adhesives for enhancing water stability

Show Author's Information Wei Liu1,§,  Yuan Li1,§,  Rujing Li1,  Hui Xu1,  Xinling Lu1,  Weibing Dong2,  Zhen Zhang1( ),  Yong Wang1( )
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
School of chemistry and chemical engineering, Qinghai Nationalities University, Xining 810007, China

§ Wei Liu and Yuan Li contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
aqueous stability, water purification, supramolecular assembly, graphene oxide membranes, nano-adhesives
Topics:
Graphene oxide
Cite this article:
Liu W, Li Y, Li R, et al. Constructing 2D ultrathin graphene oxide membranes with supramolecular-assembled nano-adhesives for enhancing water stability. Nano Research, 2023, 16(7): 8505-8511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5524-2
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Atomic-thick two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as an ideal building block in developing ultrathin 2D membranes for separating substances. However, due to the negative charge of GO sheets when hydrated, electrostatic repulsion causes GO membranes to disintegrate easily in water, limiting their wide application in aqueous solutions. Here, we introduce and apply the concept of localized gluing by designing ultra-small supramolecular-assembled nanoparticles as nano-adhesives (NPA) to construct robust GO membranes with a thickness of only 24 nm. The supramolecular-assembled NPA were synthesized by cyclodextrin (CD) and tannic acid (TA) with a uniform size distribution of about 4.5 nm, and exposed surface pyrogallols that could strongly interact with GO sheets. The physical sizing of the NPA confines the interlayer spacing and maintains the nanochannel, while the natural molecular properties of the NPA enhance the connection between adjacent layers and inhibit swelling detachment. The fabricated ultrathin 2D membranes show a remarkable two times enhancement of water permeance over pristine GO membranes and exhibit excellent durability with record-breaking stability for 720 h immersion in water. This strategy provides meaningful insights into the design and fabrication of robust ultrathin membranes for practical application.


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Abstract
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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Constructing 2D ultrathin graphene oxide membranes with supramolecular-assembled nano-adhesives for enhancing water stability

Show Author's information Wei Liu1,§, Yuan Li1,§, Rujing Li1, Hui Xu1, Xinling Lu1, Weibing Dong2, Zhen Zhang1( ), Yong Wang1( )
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
School of chemistry and chemical engineering, Qinghai Nationalities University, Xining 810007, China

§ Wei Liu and Yuan Li contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Atomic-thick two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as an ideal building block in developing ultrathin 2D membranes for separating substances. However, due to the negative charge of GO sheets when hydrated, electrostatic repulsion causes GO membranes to disintegrate easily in water, limiting their wide application in aqueous solutions. Here, we introduce and apply the concept of localized gluing by designing ultra-small supramolecular-assembled nanoparticles as nano-adhesives (NPA) to construct robust GO membranes with a thickness of only 24 nm. The supramolecular-assembled NPA were synthesized by cyclodextrin (CD) and tannic acid (TA) with a uniform size distribution of about 4.5 nm, and exposed surface pyrogallols that could strongly interact with GO sheets. The physical sizing of the NPA confines the interlayer spacing and maintains the nanochannel, while the natural molecular properties of the NPA enhance the connection between adjacent layers and inhibit swelling detachment. The fabricated ultrathin 2D membranes show a remarkable two times enhancement of water permeance over pristine GO membranes and exhibit excellent durability with record-breaking stability for 720 h immersion in water. This strategy provides meaningful insights into the design and fabrication of robust ultrathin membranes for practical application.

Keywords: aqueous stability, water purification, supramolecular assembly, graphene oxide membranes, nano-adhesives

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 22 November 2022
Revised: 13 January 2023
Accepted: 22 January 2023
Published: 02 March 2023
Issue date: July 2023

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2023

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was financially funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFC1905500) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21922409 and 22274109).

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