Improved Ion Transport and High Energy Conversion through Hydrogel Membrane with 3D Interconnected Nanopores

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Abstract
To mimic and use the functions of the ion transport system that is central to biological processes, bioinspired ion-selective membranes were developed and show great potential in a variety of fields. However, the practical applications of them are now limited due to low pore density, low conductivity, or scale-up difficulty. Herein, we demonstrate a 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate phosphate (HEMAP) hydrogel membrane with 3D interconnected nanopores and space charged through simple photopolymerization. The HEMAP hydrogel membrane exhibits high conductance and outstanding ion selectivity, and the membrane-based osmotic power generator shows the excellent output power density up to 5.38 W/m2. Both experimentally and theoretically, the 3D interconnected structure is revealed to play a key role in enhancing charge-governed ion transport and energy conversion. This work highlights the advantages of 3D interconnected nanopores in ion diffusion and shows the potential of our designing hydrogel membrane in osmotic energy conversion, water desalination, and sensors.
Funding Information
  • Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2016YFB0201304, 2017YFA0206900, 2017YFA0206904)
  • Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality (2194088)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (11771435, 21573274, 21625303, 21905287, 21988102, 51673206)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDY-SSW-SLH014, XDA21010213)

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