Differences in water and vapor transport through angstrom-scale pores in atomically thin membranes

Peifu Cheng, Francesco Fornasiero, Melinda L. Jue, Wonhee Ko, An-Ping Li, Juan Carlos Idrobo, Michael S. H. Boutilier and Piran R. Kidambi ()
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Peifu Cheng: Vanderbilt University
Francesco Fornasiero: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Melinda L. Jue: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Wonhee Ko: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
An-Ping Li: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Juan Carlos Idrobo: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Michael S. H. Boutilier: Western University
Piran R. Kidambi: Vanderbilt University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The transport of water through nanoscale capillaries/pores plays a prominent role in biology, ionic/molecular separations, water treatment and protective applications. However, the mechanisms of water and vapor transport through nanoscale confinements remain to be fully understood. Angstrom-scale pores (~2.8–6.6 Å) introduced into the atomically thin graphene lattice represent ideal model systems to probe water transport at the molecular-length scale with short pores (aspect ratio ~1–1.9) i.e., pore diameters approach the pore length (~3.4 Å) at the theoretical limit of material thickness. Here, we report on orders of magnitude differences (~80×) between transport of water vapor (~44.2–52.4 g m−2 day−1 Pa−1) and liquid water (0.6–2 g m−2 day−1 Pa−1) through nanopores (~2.8–6.6 Å in diameter) in monolayer graphene and rationalize this difference via a flow resistance model in which liquid water permeation occurs near the continuum regime whereas water vapor transport occurs in the free molecular flow regime. We demonstrate centimeter-scale atomically thin graphene membranes with up to an order of magnitude higher water vapor transport rate (~5.4–6.1 × 104 g m−2 day−1) than most commercially available ultra-breathable protective materials while effectively blocking even sub-nanometer (>0.66 nm) model ions/molecules.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34172-1

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