Electric field modulated water permeation through laminar Ti3C2Tx MXene membrane. (1st July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Li; Kan, Xiaonan; Huang, Tao; Lao, Junchao; Luo, Kuiguang; Gao, Jun; Liu, Xueli; Sui, Kunyan; Jiang, Lei
• Is Part Of: Water research. Volume 219(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-07-01
• Subjects: MXene -- Water permeation -- Water treatment -- Water transport -- Electrical modulation; Water -- Pollution -- Research -- Periodicals; 363.7394
• DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118598
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0043-1354

Abstract

Highlights: Water permeation through laminar MXene membranes can be electrically modulated. Water permeation can be enhanced by 70 times with negative voltage of a few volts. The mechanism is the enhanced water/MXene interaction under electric field. High rejection rates to dyes are kept along with the enhanced water permeation. Abstract: Controlling water transport is central to a wide range of water-related energy and environment issues. In particular, enhancing the water permeation is highly demanded for practical membrane applications such as water treatment. In this work, we demonstrate that the water permeation through the laminar and electrically conductive MXene membrane can be facilely modulated with electric field. By applying a negative voltage of a few volts on the membrane, the water permeation rate was enhanced by 70 times. Density functional theory calculations and experimental characterizations suggest that the enhancement arises from the enhanced water/MXene interaction under electric field, which manifests itself as enhanced hydrophilicity of the MXene nanosheets. Along with the facilitated water permeation, the rejection rate to dyes of the membrane was kept at a relatively high level, which was 93.1% to Congo red and 94.8% to aniline blue under an applied voltage of -3 V, showing the potential for dye separation and water purification. Considering that there has been increasing interest in utilizing MXene for separations and water treatment, this work should inspire a range of future works in the related area to improve the membrane performance with external stimuli. Graphical abstract: Image, graphical abstract