@article{Zhang2023, 
author = {Yizhu Zhang and Shangfa Pan and Yuanyuan Zhang and Shaoqiang Su and Xia Zhang and Jian Liu and Jun Gao},
title = {Biomimetic high-flux proton pump constructed with asymmetric polymeric carbon nitride membrane},
year = {2023},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {16},
number = {1},
pages = {18-24},
keywords = {polymeric carbon nitride membrane, ion selectivity, proton pump, light harvesting},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-022-4659-x},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-022-4659-x},
abstract = {Biological proton pumps ferry protons in an active manner and have a high flux (a few to 10 protons/(s·nm2)). Integrating these features in an artificial membrane may open the way for a wide range of applications but it remains challenging. In this work, we employed a structural engineering strategy to construct an asymmetric photonic polymeric carbon nitride (C3N4) membrane that exhibited photo-driven high flux proton pumping performance. The ion transport path through the membrane is reminiscent of that in the high-flux asymmetric biological ion channel. In addition, it has a photonic structure that mimics the mosquito compound eyes with improved light adsorption. Finally, the asymmetric structure constitutes an isotype (n–n) heterojunction that enhances the separation of the light-induced electron–hole pairs. As a result, the membrane shows a flux of 89 μA/cm2 under 100 mW/cm2 white light illumination (approximately one sun), the highest ever reported. This translates to a pumping rate of ~ 6 proton/(s·nm2), comparable to the biological counterpart. This work highlights the potential of multi-level structural engineering to construct high-performance bionic devices, and may find applications in solar energy harvesting and solar powered membrane process.}
}