Spirocyclic poly(vinylene ether ketone) membranes with enhanced microporosity for energy-efficient alcohol-hydrocarbon azeotrope separation

Jiaqi Li, Yijie Fang, Ruiyan Xiong, Weilin Feng, Hukang Guo, Fupeng Li, Mengxiao Zhang, Shuai Wang, Chuanjie Fang, Baoku Zhu, Young Moo Lee and Liping Zhu ()
Additional contact information
Jiaqi Li: Zhejiang University
Yijie Fang: Zhejiang University
Ruiyan Xiong: Zhejiang University
Weilin Feng: Zhejiang University
Hukang Guo: Zhejiang University
Fupeng Li: Zhejiang University
Mengxiao Zhang: Zhejiang University
Shuai Wang: Zhejiang University
Chuanjie Fang: Zhejiang University
Baoku Zhu: Zhejiang University
Young Moo Lee: Hanyang University
Liping Zhu: Zhejiang University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The energy-efficient separation of azeotropic organic mixtures remains a critical challenge in chemical manufacturing. Conventional thermal-driven processes like distillation and pervaporation face fundamental thermodynamic constraints, requiring energy-intensive phase transitions. We present a pressure-driven membrane solution using a spirocyclic poly(vinylene ether ketone) membrane with enhanced microporosity that achieves alcohol-selective permeation from alcohol-hydrocarbon azeotropes. The membrane demonstrates separation factors of 330 for ethanol/cyclohexane and 74 for ethanol/heptane systems, while reducing energy consumption by 2-3 orders of magnitude compared to conventional methods. Through multiscale characterization and molecular dynamics simulations, we elucidate the dual mechanism governing separation performance: differential surface adsorption affinity and restricted hydrocarbon diffusion within micropores of membrane. Here, we show a molecular sieving strategy bypasses traditional volatility-based separation paradigms, offering an approach for azeotrope fractionation with transformative potential for sustainable chemical processing.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64965-z 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_s41467-025-64965-z

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

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64965-z

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 ().