Scientific Achievement
Size-selective desalting of small molecules and proteins is demonstrated in membranes with >10x increase in the permeance compared to state-of-the-art commercial membranes.
Significance and Impact
Enhanced diffusion and size-selectivity of graphene membranes will aid purification of drugs, biochemical analytics, medical diagnostics, therapeutics, and nano-bio separations.
Research Details
- Membranes are created at MIT by transferring polycrystalline graphene onto polycarbonate supports with 200 nm diameter openings, sealing accidental defects, then creating nanoscale pores by oxygen ions.
- Scanning transmission electron microscopy at CNMS quantifies pore size and distribution.
P.R. Kidambi, D. Jang, J.-C. Idrobo, M.S.H. Boutilier, L. Wang, J. Kong, and R. Karnik, Advanced Materials (2017). DOI:10.1002/adma.201700277