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Enhanced sieving from exfoliated MoS2membranes via covalent functionalization

Authors :
Ries, Lucie
Petit, Eddy
Michel, Thierry
Diogo, Cristina Coelho
Gervais, Christel
Salameh, Chrystelle
Bechelany, Mikhael
Balme, Sébastien
Miele, Philippe
Onofrio, Nicolas
Voiry, Damien
Source :
Nature Materials; October 2019, Vol. 18 Issue: 10 p1112-1117, 6p
Publication Year :
2019

Abstract

Nanolaminate membranes made of two-dimensional materials such as graphene oxide are promising candidates for molecular sieving via size-limited diffusion in the two-dimensional capillaries, but high hydrophilicity makes these membranes unstable in water. Here, we report a nanolaminate membrane based on covalently functionalized molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets. The functionalized MoS2membranes demonstrate >90% and ~87% rejection for micropollutants and NaCl, respectively, when operating under reverse osmotic conditions. The sieving performance and water flux of the functionalized MoS2membranes are attributed both to control of the capillary widths of the nanolaminates and to control of the surface chemistry of the nanosheets. We identify small hydrophobic functional groups, such as the methyl group, as the most promising for water purification. Methyl- functionalized nanosheets show high water permeation rates as confirmed by our molecular dynamic simulations, while maintaining high NaCl rejection. Control of the surface chemistry and the interlayer spacing therefore offers opportunities to tune the selectivity of the membranes while enhancing their stability.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14761122 and 14764660
Volume :
18
Issue :
10
Database :
Supplemental Index
Journal :
Nature Materials
Publication Type :
Periodical
Accession number :
ejs50851058
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-019-0464-7