Water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane

Water transport through nanoporous materials is important in water treatment, desalination, and nanofiltration. Two-dimensional (2D) membranes such as porous graphene have been explored for high-permeance water transport. However, water transport through a new class of 2D membranes based on two-dime...

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Main Authors: Yujing Tong, Hongjun Liu, Shannon M. Mahurin, Sheng Dai, De-en Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Computational Materials Today
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950463524000139
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author Yujing Tong
Hongjun Liu
Shannon M. Mahurin
Sheng Dai
De-en Jiang
author_facet Yujing Tong
Hongjun Liu
Shannon M. Mahurin
Sheng Dai
De-en Jiang
author_sort Yujing Tong
collection DOAJ
description Water transport through nanoporous materials is important in water treatment, desalination, and nanofiltration. Two-dimensional (2D) membranes such as porous graphene have been explored for high-permeance water transport. However, water transport through a new class of 2D membranes based on two-dimensional covalently linked fullerene monolayers has not been fully explored. Here we use classical molecular dynamics simulations to investigate both vapor and liquid water transport through a monolayer fullerene membrane. We find that a quasi-tetragonal phase fullerene membrane possesses the right pore size and geometry that allows fast water vapor transport (∼ 50 g m−2 day−1 Pa−1) and water liquid transport (∼ 2.0 g m−2 day−1 Pa−1). Furthermore, simulation of sea water transport through the fullerene membrane shows 100 % salt rejection. The much faster vapor transport rate is attributed to the funnel-shaped pore and the optimal size that allows free rotation of water molecules permeating through, while the slower liquid transport is due to the need to desolvate a water molecule to break its hydrogen-bond network across the hydrophobic pore. This work shows the great potential of using monolayer fullerene membranes as 2D membranes for fast and selective water transport.
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spelling doaj-art-48f7b8f84f5747f080c219bec6e2eec72025-08-20T02:41:07ZengElsevierComputational Materials Today2950-46352024-12-01410001310.1016/j.commt.2024.100013Water transport through monolayer fullerene membraneYujing Tong0Hongjun Liu1Shannon M. Mahurin2Sheng Dai3De-en Jiang4Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USADepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USAChemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USAChemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA; Department of Chemistry, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USADepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Corresponding author.Water transport through nanoporous materials is important in water treatment, desalination, and nanofiltration. Two-dimensional (2D) membranes such as porous graphene have been explored for high-permeance water transport. However, water transport through a new class of 2D membranes based on two-dimensional covalently linked fullerene monolayers has not been fully explored. Here we use classical molecular dynamics simulations to investigate both vapor and liquid water transport through a monolayer fullerene membrane. We find that a quasi-tetragonal phase fullerene membrane possesses the right pore size and geometry that allows fast water vapor transport (∼ 50 g m−2 day−1 Pa−1) and water liquid transport (∼ 2.0 g m−2 day−1 Pa−1). Furthermore, simulation of sea water transport through the fullerene membrane shows 100 % salt rejection. The much faster vapor transport rate is attributed to the funnel-shaped pore and the optimal size that allows free rotation of water molecules permeating through, while the slower liquid transport is due to the need to desolvate a water molecule to break its hydrogen-bond network across the hydrophobic pore. This work shows the great potential of using monolayer fullerene membranes as 2D membranes for fast and selective water transport.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950463524000139Fullerene networksNanoporesMolecular dynamicsWater transportDesalination
spellingShingle Yujing Tong
Hongjun Liu
Shannon M. Mahurin
Sheng Dai
De-en Jiang
Water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane
Computational Materials Today
Fullerene networks
Nanopores
Molecular dynamics
Water transport
Desalination
title Water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane
title_full Water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane
title_fullStr Water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane
title_full_unstemmed Water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane
title_short Water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane
title_sort water transport through monolayer fullerene membrane
topic Fullerene networks
Nanopores
Molecular dynamics
Water transport
Desalination
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950463524000139
work_keys_str_mv AT yujingtong watertransportthroughmonolayerfullerenemembrane
AT hongjunliu watertransportthroughmonolayerfullerenemembrane
AT shannonmmahurin watertransportthroughmonolayerfullerenemembrane
AT shengdai watertransportthroughmonolayerfullerenemembrane
AT deenjiang watertransportthroughmonolayerfullerenemembrane