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Carbon nanofibers membrane bridged with graphene nanosheet and hyperbranched polymer for high-performance osmotic energy harvesting

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Abstract

Reverse electrodialysis (RED), based on ion-selective membranes, is one of the most promising technologies for capturing osmotic energy. As key elements of the RED system, ion-selective membranes must meet the crucial demands of mechanical stability, anti-fouling characteristics, easy fabrication, and high power density; however, this still remains a challenge. In this study, we demonstrated a large-scale, mechanically stable, and high-porosity membrane obtained by combining carbon nanomaterials and hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (h-PEI), thereby achieving a high power density of 5.0 W·m−2 with seawater and river water. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were subsequently bridged with graphene and h-PEI to strengthen the interaction between the CNFs, reduce the channel size and increase the space charge density, mechanical strength, and toughness. The large-scale and mechanically stable membrane fabricated using the modified CNFs exhibited anion selectivity and high ionic conductivity, thereby achieving a high-performance osmotic energy conversion. Furthermore, the anti-fouling property of the membrane was confirmed by the stability of the osmotic energy conversion in a solution with algae, which can be attributed to the high porosity of carbon nanomaterials. This economic and convenient method for the ion-selective membrane preparation is believed to be promising for large-scale osmotic energy harvesting.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22005162), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2020QE093) and the Special Financial Aid to Post-doctor Research Fellow (No. 2020T130330).

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  1. Weijie Wang and Jinlin Hao contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Weijie Wang, Jinlin Hao, Qian Sun, Minqi Zhao, Huiyi Liu & Xin Sui

  2. Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Chao Li

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  1. Weijie Wang
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  2. Jinlin Hao
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  7. Xin Sui
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Correspondence to Chao Li or Xin Sui.

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Wang, W., Hao, J., Sun, Q. et al. Carbon nanofibers membrane bridged with graphene nanosheet and hyperbranched polymer for high-performance osmotic energy harvesting. Nano Res. 16, 1205–1211 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4634-6

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