Abstract
Carbon nanostructures, especially carbon nanotubes and graphene nanopores, have been suggested for use in a wide range of purification and separation applications, from the desalination of seawater to the separation of liquids and gases. However, achieving the required high degree of selectivity among the molecules passing through the pores while maintaining rapid transport is a difficult challenge. Here, we examine the physical mechanisms by which nanopores distinguish between small ions and reject salts while passing water, as examples of how selectivity and purification can be achieved. The simple principles described can be utilized to design novel nanoporous materials for the separation of a wide range of gases, liquids, and solutes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
* The diameter of nanotubes can be measured in many different ways, including the effective internal diameter taking into account the size of the carbon atoms, the distance between the centers of opposing carbon atoms, or the outside of the carbon density seen in electron micrographs. In this article, we refer only to effective internal diameters.
References
J.K. Holt, H.G. Park, Y. Wang, M. Stadermann, A.B. Artyukhin, C.P. Grigoropoulos, A. Noy, O. Bakajin, Science 312, 1034 (2006).
M. Majumder, N. Chopra, R. Andrews, B.J. Hinds, Nature 438, 44 (2005).
A.I. Skoulidas, D.M. Ackerman, J.K. Johnson, D.S. Sholl, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 185901 (2002).
M. Majumder, N. Chopra, B.J. Hinds, ACS Nano 5, 3867 (2011).
S. Kumar, S. Srivastava, Y.K. Vijay, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 37, 3914 (2012).
S.P. Koenig, L. Wang, J. Pellegrino, J.S. Bunch, Nat. Nanotechnol. 7, 728 (2012).
L. Zhang, B. Zhao, X. Wang, Y. Liang, H. Qiu, G. Zheng, J. Yang, Carbon 66, 11 (2014).
J. Wu, K. Gerstandt, H. Zhang, J. Liu, B.J. Hinds, Nat. Nanotechnol. 7, 133 (2012).
W. Choi, Z.W. Ulissi, S.F.E. Shimizu, D.O. Bellisario, M.D. Ellison, M.S. Strano, Nat. Commun. 4, 2397 (2013).
F. Fornasiero, J.B. In, S. Kim, H.G. Park, Y. Wang, C.P. Grigoropoulos, A. Noy, O. Bakajin, Langmuir 26, 14848 (2010).
F. Fornasiero, H.G. Park, J.K. Holt, M. Stadermann, C.P. Grigoropoulos, A. Noy O. Bakajin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105, 17250 (2008).
H. Huang, Z. Song, N. Wei, L. Shi, Y. Mao, Y. Ying, L. Sun, Nat. Commun. 4, 1 (2013).
G. Hummer, J.C. Rasaiah, J.P. Noworyta, Nature 414, 188 (2001).
B. Corry, J. Phys. Chem. B 112, 1427 (2008).
C. Song, B. Corry, J. Phys. Chem. B 113, 7642 (2009).
C. Peter, G. Hummer, Biophys. J. 89, 2222 (2005).
M. Thomas, B. Corry, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 374, 20150020 (2016).
B. Corry, PeerJ 1, e16 (2013).
Z. He, J. Zhou, X. Lu, B. Corry, J. Phys. Chem. C 117, 11412 (2013).
D. Cohen-Tanugi, J.C. Grossman, Nano Lett. 12, 3602 (2012).
B. Corry, Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 751 (2011).
Z.E. Hughes, C.J. Shearer, J. Shapter, J.D. Gale, J. Phys. Chem. C 116, 24943 (2012).
W.-F. Chan, H.-Y. Chen, A. Surapathi, M.G. Taylor, X. Shao, E. Marand, J.K. Johnson, ACS Nano 7, 5308 (2013).
K. Sint, B.Y. Wang, P. Kral, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 9600 (2009).
L.A. Richards, B.S. Richards, B. Corry, A.I. Schäfer, Environ. Sci. Technol. 47, 1968 (2013).
L.A. Richards, A.I. Schäfer, B.S. Richards, B. Corry, Small 8, 1701 (2012).
L.A. Richards, A.I. Schäfer, B.S. Richards, B. Corry, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 14, 11633 (2012).
S. Garaj, W. Hubbard, A. Reina, J. Kong, D. Branton, J.A. Golovchenko, Nature 467, 190 (2010).
T. Jain, B.C. Rasera, R.J.S. Guerrero, M.S.H. Boutilier, S.C. O’Hern, J.-C. Idrobo, R. Karnik, Nat. Nanotechnol. 10, 1 (2015).
R.C. Rollings, A.T. Kuan, J.A. Golovchenko, Nat. Commun. 7, 11408 (2016).
M. Majumder, N. Chopra, B.J. Hinds, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 9062 (2005).
M. Majumder, B. Corry, Chem. Commun. 47, 7683 (2011).
M. Majumder, X. Zhan, R. Andrews, B.J. Hinds, Langmuir 23, 8624 (2007).
M. Lemasurier, L. Heginbotham, C. Miller, J. Gen. Physiol. 118, 303 (2001).
X. Gong, J. Li, K. Xu, J. Wang, H. Yang, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132, 1873 (2010).
Z. He, J. Zhou, X. Lu, B. Corry, ACS Nano 7, 10148 (2013).
J. Payandeh, T. Scheuer, N. Zheng, W.A. Catterall, Nature 475, 353 (2011).
Y. Kang, Z. Zhang, H. Shi, J. Zhang, L. Liang, Q. Wang, H. Agren, Y. Tu, Nanoscale 6, 10666 (2014).
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by funding from the Australian Research Council (FT130100781).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Corry, B. Mechanisms of selective ion transport and salt rejection in carbon nanostructures. MRS Bulletin 42, 306–310 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2017.56
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2017.56