Axial alignment of covalent organic framework membranes for giant osmotic energy harvesting

Wenxiu Jiang, Jiale Zhou, Xianwei Zhong, Mingwei Fang, Junran Hao, Danying Zhao, Xiufang Wen, Huanting Wang (), Yahong Zhou (), Ying Zhu () and Lei Jiang
Additional contact information
Wenxiu Jiang: Beihang University
Jiale Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xianwei Zhong: South China University of Technology
Mingwei Fang: Beihang University
Junran Hao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Danying Zhao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiufang Wen: South China University of Technology
Huanting Wang: Monash University
Yahong Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ying Zhu: Beihang University
Lei Jiang: Beihang University

Nature Sustainability, 2025, vol. 8, issue 4, 446-455

Abstract: Abstract The membrane-based osmotic power generation technology can both provide sustainable energy and address environmental pollution utilizing an eco-friendly energy conversion mechanism. Covalent organic framework (COF) membranes are an attractive option for this application due to their porosity, well-defined pores and tunable surface chemistry. However, precise engineering of the porous structure for rapid ion transport remains a challenge. Here we engineer the initially randomly oriented COF nanochannels into a highly axially aligned configuration, delivering a metal ion-coordinated COF framework, through interfacial polymerization followed by coordination to different ions, including Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Co2+ and Cu2+. Notably, the representative Ca-COF demonstrates a superior cation selectivity of 0.93 and ionic conductivity of 0.06 S m−1. When applied to osmotic energy harvesting, the Ca-COF membranes deliver a record output power density of 320.8 W m−2 in the presence of a mixture of natural seawater and river water. By highlighting the importance of aligning metal ion-coordinated COF nanochannels in improving ion selectivity and permeability, our strategy suggests a pathway in unlocking the potential of osmotic energy harvesting technologies.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-024-01493-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:natsus:v:8:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1038_s41893-024-01493-6

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

DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01493-6

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Sustainability is currently edited by Monica Contestabile

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