Functional Membranes for High Efficiency Molecule and Ion Transport

306 Pages·2023·14.94 MB·English

by  Wang J., Wu W. (ed.)

Functional Membranes for High Efficiency
Molecule and Ion Transport
·
Jingtao Wang Wenjia Wu
Editors
Functional Membranes
for High Efficiency Molecule
and Ion Transport
Editors
Jingtao Wang Wenjia Wu
School of Chemical Engineering School of Chemical Engineering
Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou University
Zhengzhou, Henan, China Zhengzhou, Henan, China
ISBN 978-981-19-8154-8 ISBN 978-981-19-8155-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8155-5
Jointly published with Science Press
The print edition is not for sale in China mainland. Customers from China mainland please order the print
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Foreword
Over the past few decades, membrane technology has attracted increasing interests
in a broad range of applications like energy, environment, water, food, and medicine,
because of its high energy efficiency, easy scalability and small capital investment, as
well as environmental friendliness. Membranes, acting as selective barriers that allow
the preferential permeation of certain chemical species, determine the efficiency, cost,
and stability of membrane technology. Although remarkable progresses have been
achieved in membrane technology, the trade-off between selectivity and permeability
of membranes remains a great challenge. To this end, intensive research efforts have
been dedicated to developing novel membrane materials and membrane structures,
including novel building blocks (block copolymer, polymer of intrinsic microporosity
(PIM), porous organic cage (POC), porous aromatic framework (PAF), metal-organic
framework (MOF), covalent organic framework (COF), etc.), inorganic zeolite and
ceramic membranes, nanophase-separated membrane, composite membrane, and
lamellar membrane, among others.
This book reviews the design, fabrication, structure manipulation, and mass
transfer mechanism exploration of several kinds of membranes, including hybrid
membrane, composite membrane, nanofiber composite membrane, and 2D lamellar
membrane, for applications as organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membrane,
proton exchange membrane (PEM), and separator/electrolyte in lithium battery.
The book is composed of seven chapters. Chap1t egri ves a brief introduction to
membranes, including the category, definition, design strategy, and application, with
an emphasis on OSN membrane, PEM, and separator/electrolyte for lithium battery.
Chapter 2, contributed by Wenpeng Li, Shiyuan Liu, and Jingjing Chen, introduces
the fabrication as well as the structure and performance control of polymer-based
composite membranes for OSN, which mainly concentrate on manipulating the struc-
ture of active layer with nanofillers. Chap3te, r contributed by Xiaoli Wu, Yifan Li,
and Jingtao Wang, introduces the fabrication as well as the structure and performance
control of inorganic-nanosheet-based lamellar membranes for OSN, which mainly
concentrate on manipulating the structure of interlayer channel by anchoring or inter-
calating functionalized species. Chapte4r , contributed by Guoli Zhou, Jingchuan
Dang, and Jingtao Wang, introduces the fabrication as well as the structure and
v
vi Foreword
performance control of polymer-based composite membranes as PEM for hydrogen
fuel cell, which mainly concentrate on manipulating the structure of transfer channel
with nanofillers and ionic liquid. Chapt5e,r contributed by Jianlong Lin, Wenjia Wu,
and Jingtao Wang, introduces the fabrication as well as the structure and performance
control of inorganic nanosheet-based lamellar membranes and polymer nanofiber-
based composite membranes as PEM for hydrogen fuel cell, which mainly concen-
trate on manipulating the structure of interfacial transfer pathway by inducing func-
tional group rearrangement. Chapte6r, contributed by Weijie Kou, Jiajia Huang, and
Wenjia Wu, introduces the fabrication as well as the structure and performance control
of polymer-based separators for lithium–sulfur battery, which mainly concentrate
on decorating the commercial separators with nanofibers and inorganic nanosheets.
Chapter 7, contributed by Jie Zhang, Yafang Zhang, and Jingtao Wang, introduces
the fabrication as well as the structure and performance control of polymer-based
composite solid-state electrolyte for lithium ion battery, which mainly concentrate
on manipulating the structure of mass transfer channel with nanofillers.
This book is a valuable reference for designing and fabricating high-performance
membranes for applications in OSN, hydrogen fuel cell, and lithium battery and is
suitable for broad scientific communities including chemical engineers, chemists,
materials scientists and biomedical engineering researchers, as well as the graduate
students in related fields.
Zhongyi Jiang
Tianjin University
Tianjin, China
Contents
1 Introduction to Membrane...................................... 1
Jingtao Wang and Wenjia Wu
2 Composite Membrane for Organic Solvent Nanofiltratio.n......... 7
Wenpeng Li, Shiyuan Liu, and Jingjing Chen
3 Lamellar Membrane for Organic Solvent Nanofiltratio.n.......... 65
Xiaoli Wu, Yifan Li, and Jingtao Wang
4 Composite Proton Exchange Membrane for Hydrogen Fuel C.e.l.l. 103
Guoli Zhou, Jingchuan Dang, and Jingtao Wang
5 Lamellar and Nanofiber-Based Proton Exchange Membranes
for Hydrogen Fuel Cell......................................... 167
Jianlong Lin, Wenjia Wu, and Jingtao Wang
6 Composite Separator or Electrolyte for Lithium–Sulfur Batter.y... 219
Weijie Kou, Jiajia Huang, and Wenjia Wu
7 Composite Electrolyte for All-Solid-State Lithium Batter.y........ 253
Jie Zhang, Yafang Zhang, and Jingtao Wang
vii
Chapter 1
Introduction to Membrane
Jingtao Wang and Wenjia Wu
In the past decades, membrane technology has been widely utilized in various sepa-
ration processes, because of their low-energy consumption, low-cost, reliability, and
scalability when compared with conventional separation processes like distillation,
extraction, or crystallization [1, 2]. In order to further increase the competitiveness,
intensive efforts have been made from improving the separation efficiency of existing
membrane processes to exploring new applications. As the core part, membrane
materials with high permeability, high selectivity, and high stability are extremely
desired since they can significantly accelerate the practical application of membrane
technology [3, 4]. To date, plenty of membranes with different pore sizes have been
developed, such as polymer membrane, ceramic membrane, two-dimensional (2D)
lamellar membrane, molecule sieving membrane, hybrid membrane, and composite
membrane [5–10]. These membranes have been widely used for different separation
processes including, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis,
gas separation, and proton/ion conduction, etc. [11, 12].
For each category of membrane, the physical and chemical environments of
transfer channels are of great importance in manipulating the comprehensive proper-
ties. The physical environments are dictated by the connectivity, tortuosity, and size of
transfer channels, while the chemical environments are dictated by the type, amount,
and distribution of functional groups within transfer channels [13]. Generally, ideal
transfer channels should integrate the following attributes: (i) they should be short
with appropriate transfer environment to endow membranes with high permeability,
(ii) the channel size distribution should be narrow to endow membranes with high
B
J. Wang ( ) · W. Wu
School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, P. R. China
e-mail: [email protected]
W. Wu
e-mail: [email protected]
J. Wang
Henan Institute of Advanced Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450003, P. R. China
© Science Press 2023 1
J.W anga ndW.Wu(eds.),F unctional Membranes for High Efficiency Molecule
and Ion Transport, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8155-5_1
2 J.WangandW.Wu
selectivity, and (iii) the chemical and mechanical stability should be high to endow
membranes with long-term operation stability [14]. Currently, polymers are the
dominant membrane materials, due to their easy processability and high scale-up
capability. For conventional polymer membranes, breaking the permeability–selec-
tivity or permeability–stability trade-off remains a challenge. The great progress in
polymer membranes over the past decades has brought about the booming of novel
kinds of structured membranes including, hybrid membrane, composite membrane,
and phase-separated membrane, which push the separation performances of polymer
membranes to new records [15–18].
Hybrid membrane is an intricately structured membrane configuration, owing to
its merit of coupling the good flexibility and processability of polymers with the
regular topological structure as well as the tunable functionality of fillers [19, 20].
Impermeable fillers such as silica particles, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets, and
organic/inorganic nanorods can induce a distortion of chain alignment to improve
the free volume property or induce the construction of long-range, ordered transfer
channels in membrane [21, 22]. Permeable fillers such as metal–organic frameworks
(MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and zeolite can afford additional
transfer pathways and mechanisms to membrane including, molecule sieving, and
selective adsorption [23, 24].
Composite membrane for molecule transfer is generally a heterogeneous
membrane with dense separation layer and porous support layer, where the sepa-
ration layer and the support layer can be separately optimized to achieve simultane-
ously high separation performance and stability [25, 26]. Particularly, the fabrication
of composite membrane with an ultrathin separation layer is deemed as a delicate
strategy to achieve highly permeable membrane, which is one of the most impor-
tant pursuits for membrane technology [27, 28]. At present, researches related to
composite membranes mainly focus on the precise manipulation of physical struc-
ture and chemical component of separation layer; however, these remain challenging
due to the pursuit of ultrathin thickness. For proton/ion separation, electrospinning is
increasingly recognized as a powerful mean for introducing unique phase-separated
architectures into composite membranes [29]. Indeed, it allows the elaboration of
composite membranes with a rather facile mean to control of the long-range organiza-
tion/distribution/percolation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains of the ionomer
by adjusting the type of electrospun material, the volume fraction of nanofibers, and
the experimental conditions [30]. Moreover, electrospinning can impart uniaxial
alignment of polymer chains within nanofibers, resulting in enhanced mechanical
properties. Importantly, it can promote the formation of interconnected transfer
channels, which facilitate the improvement in proton/ion conduction [31].
In recent years, 2D nanosheets, with a thickness of one to a few atoms, have
become the promising building blocks for advanced membranes [32]. Moreover,
the nanosheets can be designed with precise pore size along with targeted chem-
ical functionality, enabling their extraordinary physical or chemical selectivity [33].
Through a facile filtration process, 2D lamellar membranes can be fabricated with
either porous or nonporous nanosheets. The transfer channels based on nonporous
nanosheets refer to the interlayer channels of lamellar membranes, differing from
1 IntroductiontoMembrane 3
the pores of porous nanosheet-based lamellar membranes [34]. To date, a large
number of nonporous nanosheets have been developed including, graphene oxide
(GO), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), MXenes, transition metal dichalcogenides
(TMDs), layered double hydroxides (LDHs), etc., most of which are easy to fabricate.
For 2D lamellar membranes fabricated with nonporous nanosheets, the researchers
are mainly concentrated on controlling the physical structure and chemical compo-
nent of interlayer channels. However, the interlayer channel is usually tortuous. To
this end, intrinsically porous nanosheets are developed. The transfer channels based
on this kind of nanosheet refer to the channels from the intrinsic pores on nanosheets
[35]. Intrinsically porous nanosheets can be 2D zeolites, 2D MOFs, 2D COFs, etc.
In this work, we focus on the application of membrane technology on organic
solvent nanofiltration, hydrogen fuel cell, and lithium ion battery. We prepared
several kinds of membranes, including hybrid membrane, composite membrane,
nanofiber composite membrane, and 2D lamellar membrane, and the microstructure
and performance of membrane were efficiently manipulated. In addition, the rele-
vant transfer/separation mechanisms were deeply studied, and the transfer model
equations were established. For organic solvent nanofiltration, the category of
membrane mainly contains hybrid membrane, composite membrane, and 2D lamellar
membrane. For hydrogen fuel cell, the category of membrane mainly includes
hybrid membrane, nanofiber composite membrane, and 2D lamellar membrane. With
respect to lithium ion or lithium–sulfur battery, hybrid membrane and 2D lamellar
membrane are investigated in detail. The microstructures and performances as well
as the structure-performance relationships of membranes are systematically inves-
tigated. Based on this, we preliminarily disclose the mass transfer mechanism in
confined spacing and obtain a series of high-performance membranes and membrane
materials. Hopefully, this work will offer some guidance on the design of advanced
membranes with diverse transfer channels for applications in separation, catalysis,
energy conversion, and storage, etc.
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