Controlled Localized Metal-Organic Framework Synthesis on Anion Exchange Membranes.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) films can be used in various applications. In this work, we propose a method that can be used to synthesize MOF films localized on a single side of an anion exchange membrane, preventing the transport of the metal precursor via Donnan exclusion. This is advantageous compared to the related contra-diffusion method that results in the growth of a MOF film on both sides of the support, differing in quality on both sides. Our proposed method has the advantage that the synthesis conditions can potentially be tuned to create the optimal conditions for crystal growth on a single side. The localized growth of the MOF is governed by Donnan exclusion of the anion exchange membrane, preventing metal ions from passing to the other compartment, and this leads to a local control of the precursor stoichiometry. In this work, we show that our method can localize the growth of both Cu-BTC and ZIF-8 in water and in methanol, respectively, highlighting that this method can used for preparing a variety of MOF films with varying characteristics using soluble precursors at room temperature.

Tuning the Electrochemical Properties of Novel Asymmetric Integral Sulfonated Polysulfone Cation Exchange Membranes.

In this study, novel asymmetric integral cation exchange membranes were prepared by the wet phase inversion of sulfonated polysulfone (SPSf) solutions. SPSf with different degrees of sulfonation (DS) was synthesized by variation in the amount of chlorosulfonic acid utilized as a sulfonating agent. The characterization of SPSf samples was performed using FTIR and 1H-NMR techniques. SPSf with a DS of 0.31 (0.67 meq/g corresponding ion exchange capacity) was chosen to prepare the membranes, as polymers with a higher DS resulted in poor mechanical properties and excessive swelling in water. By a systematic study, the opportunity to tune the properties of SPSf membranes by acting on the composition of the polymeric solution was demonstrated. The effect of two different phase inversion parameters, solvent type and co-solvent ratio, were investigated by morphological and electrochemical characterization. The best properties (permselectivity of 0.86 and electrical resistance of 6.3 Ω∙cm2) were obtained for the membrane prepared with 2-propanol (IPA):1-Methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) in a 20:80 ratio. This membrane was further characterized in different solution concentrations to estimate its performance in a Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) operation. Although the estimated generated power was less than that of the commercial CMX (Neosepta) membrane, used as a benchmark, the tailor-made membrane can be considered as a cost-effective alternative, as one of the main limitations to the commercialization of RED is the high membrane price.

Enhanced selectivity and performance of heterogeneous cation exchange membranes through addition of sulfonated and protonated Montmorillonite.

Novel heterogeneous cation exchange membranes, based on poly (ether sulfone) and cation exchange resin, were prepared with the addition of protonated and sulfonated Montmorillonite (MMT) nanoparticles. Detailed investigations were then carried out studying the morphology, physical properties and the performance of membranes. It is observed that addition of MMT, leads to a substantially better distribution of ion exchange resin in the polymer matrix. This leads, at low loadings of MMT (0.5 wt.%), to membranes that are more hydrated, more hydrophilic and with higher ion exchange capacities. Especially at these low MMT loadings, substantially better membrane performance is observed, with higher permselectivities, lower areal resistances and increased ion transport during electrodialysis. A very surprising effect is that the addition of MMT has a strong effect on the selectivity of the membranes, especially towards Mg2+. A high affinity of the nanoclay towards Mg2+, selectively slows down Mg2+ transport through the nanoclay containing membrane. At low MMT loadings this leads to a much higher areal resistance for Mg2+, while for Na+ and Ca2+ the areal resistance is decreased. This leads to resistance based selectivities of 5.5 for Na+/Mg2+ and 4.5 for Ca2+/Mg2+. Under more challenging electrodialysis operation selectivities become lower, but persist at 2.6 for Na+/Mg2+ and 2.04 for Ca2+/Mg2+, outperforming commercial Ralex membranes. Overall, the protonated clay leads to slightly better membrane performances and selectivities than the sulfonated clay, likely due to a better compatibility with PES.

Divalent Cation Removal by Donnan Dialysis for Improved Reverse Electrodialysis.

Divalent cations in feedwater can cause significant decreases in efficiencies for membrane processes, such as reverse electrodialysis (RED). In RED, power is harvested from the mixing of river and seawater, and the obtainable voltage is reduced and the resistance is increased if divalent cations are present. The power density of the RED process can be improved by removing divalent cations from the fresh water. Here, we study divalent cation removal from fresh water using seawater as draw solution in a Donnan dialysis (DD) process. In this way, a membrane system with neither chemicals nor electrodes but only natural salinity gradients can be used to exchange divalent cations. For DD, the permselectivity of the cation exchange membrane is found to be crucial as it determines the ability to block salt leakage (also referred to as co-ion transport). Operating DD using a membrane stack achieved a 76% reduction in the divalent cation content in natural fresh water with residence times of just a few seconds. DD pretreated fresh water was then used in a RED process, which showed improved gross and net power densities of 9.0 and 6.3%, respectively. This improvement is caused by a lower fresh water resistance (at similar open circuit voltages), due to exchange of divalent for monovalent cations.

Effect of Divalent Cations on RED Performance and Cation Exchange Membrane Selection to Enhance Power Densities.

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a membrane-based renewable energy technology that can harvest energy from salinity gradients. The anticipated feed streams are natural river and seawater, both of which contain not only monovalent ions but also divalent ions. However, RED using feed streams containing divalent ions experiences lower power densities because of both uphill transport and increased membrane resistance. In this study, we investigate the effects of divalent cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+) on RED and demonstrate the mitigation of those effects using both novel and existing commercial cation exchange membranes (CEMs). Monovalent-selective Neosepta CMS is known to block divalent cations transport and can therefore mitigate reductions in stack voltage. The new multivalent-permeable Fuji T1 is able to transport divalent cations without a major increase in resistance. Both strategies significantly improve power densities compared to standard-grade CEMs when performing RED using streams containing divalent cations.

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) as Multivalent Materials: Size Control and Surface Functionalization by Monovalent Capping Ligands.

Control over particle size and composition are pivotal to tune the properties of metal organic frameworks (MOFs), for example, for biomedical applications. Particle-size control and functionalization of MIL-88A were achieved by using stoichiometric replacement of a small fraction of the divalent fumarate by monovalent capping ligands. A fluorine-capping ligand was used to quantify the surface coverage of capping ligand at the surface of MIL-88A. Size control at the nanoscale was achieved by using a monovalent carboxylic acid-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-COOH) ligand at different concentrations. Finally, a biotin-carboxylic acid capping ligand was used to functionalize MIL-88A to bind fluorescently labeled streptavidin as an example towards bioapplications.