(63c) Chemistry & Engineering of Two-Dimensional Materials for Energy-Efficient Molecular Separation

High-performance molecular-selective membranes are expected to play a crucial role in improving the energy-efficiency of separation processes and reducing the industrial carbon emission. Our laboratory is engaged in chemistry and engineering of two-dimensional materials at the angstrom length scale to address challenges in the scalable fabrication of nanoporous membranes separating molecules based on their relative diffusivities through custom-designed nanopores.

In this seminar, I will present our work on the synthesis of nanoporous two-dimensional materials such as graphene, graphitic carbon nitrides and zeolite precursors using a number of top-down and bottom-up synthetic strategies. In case of graphene, I will discuss defect nucleation and expansion strategies that allow incorporation of vacancy defects (nanopores) at a high density but with a narrow pore-size-distribution with a resolution of 0.3 Å for molecular differentiation, leading to realization of record-high performance in post-combustion carbon capture [1-6]. I will discuss mechanical reinforcement strategies that allows one to scale-up nanoporous single-layer graphene membranes for gas separation [1,5,7] which has led to a pilot plant demonstration project. Finally, I will discuss synthesis and tuning of gas transport pathways from nanoporous two-dimensional nanosheets and their films that allow facile fabrication of membranes for pre-combustion carbon capture [8,9].

References

1. Nature Communications 2018, 9, 2632
2. Science Advances 2019, 5, eaav1851
3. Energy & Environmental Sciences 2019, 12, 3305–3312
4. Science Advances 2021, 7, eabf0116, In press.
5. Nature Communications 2018, 9, 2632
6. PNAS 2021, 118, In Press.
7. Journal of Membrane Science 2021, 618, 118745
8. Science Advances 2020, 6, eaay9851
9. Nature Materials 2021, 20, 362-369.