Microstructure engineering of polyamide membranes for ultrafast polar and non-polar solvent transport

Huiqing Wu (), Yang Xu, Qingchen Tang, Baohu Wu and Peiyi Wu ()
Additional contact information
Huiqing Wu: Donghua University
Yang Xu: Donghua University
Qingchen Tang: Donghua University
Baohu Wu: Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) Forschungszentrum Jülich
Peiyi Wu: Donghua University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Highly permselective membranes with superior permeability and broad applicability are essential for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN). However, conventional polyamide membranes often suffer from limited permeability, especially for non-polar solvents. We herein propose a simple yet effective strategy to fabricate polyamide membranes capable of ultrafast separation for both polar and non-polar solvents. By utilizing a non-planar amine monomer with diphenyl ether moiety, interfacial polymerization is rationally conducted at the deep eutectic solvent/alkane interface, yielding an ultrathin polyamide layer (~12 nm) with enhanced microporosity, uniform nanopores and a Janus-like microstructure. The resultant membrane demonstrates high permeability (36.6 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹ for methanol, 56.6 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹ for hexane), precise molecular sieving capability and excellent structural stability. The work provides a paradigm for developing high-performance OSN membranes through the molecular-level design and powerful control of the manufacturing process.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63663-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-63663-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63663-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().