Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IonFracMem (Enabling Targeted Fractionation of Ions via Facilitated Transport Membranes)
Période du rapport: 2023-01-01 au 2025-06-30
Effective fractionation of ions does not only play a vital role in the functioning of human cell membranes, but also in engineered membranes used to produce drinkable water, extract target minerals and capture energy to address challenges in environmental, resource & energy fields. Nevertheless, most of the state-of-the-art membranes fail to overcome the trade-off between single ion selectivity and throughput. The progress is greatly hampered by the lack of comprehensive understanding on the separation mechanisms across different types of as-claimed ion selective membranes. The IonFracMem project will make breakthroughs by designing novel facilitated ion exchange membranes using an interdisciplinary approach based on electrochemistry, which synergizes with the interaction between target ion and functional materials to form ion selective sites in the membrane and thus facilitate its transport. To achieve a holistic understanding, we will purposely construct two types of membranes with completely different structure for fractionating ions: 1) polymeric membranes of flexible nature, made of conventional or hydrogel polymers (Obj. 1); 2) composite membrane of rigid nature, consisting of nanomaterials with sub-nanometer cavities (Obj. 2). Subsequently, we will provide mechanistic understanding of the facilitated transport phenomena via a multi-scale modelling approach (Obj. 3), to identify governing mechanisms that can be translated to membrane fabrication parameters. The project integrates several key engineering & science disciplines such as separation technology, material processing and functionalization, electrochemistry and fundamental physics, allowing rational design of next generation membranes from a wide range of materials for ion purification. The proposed multidisciplinary approach will impact theories and applications of electro-driven membranes in important domains such as water purification, resource recovery &
sustainable energy.
sustainable energy.
The WP1 of the project about constructing ion selective sites in polymer membranes of flexible nature. Thus far selective cation exchange membranes with polymers have been made using electrochemical-based fabrication methods. For example, a series of crack-free and homogenous 2-dimensional framework-based membranes, which demonstrated selective transport of lithium as compared to sodium and potassium. The progress in WP1 has yielded 1 publication and 2 conference proceedings/presentations, including one publication titled “Harnessing ion resource recovery: Design of selective cation exchange membranes via a synergistic ionic control method” in Journal of Membrane Science, two conference presentations titled “Design of monovalent selective ion exchange membrane via ionic control strategy” in 6th International Conference on Desalination using Membrane Technology, and titled “Recovery of critical metal ion with electrodialysis: membrane optimization and process Integration” in Euromembrane conference 2024, respectively.
The WP2 of the project is focused on enabling high throughput and highly ion selective site formation in composite membranes of rigid nature. Thus far a set of novel metal organic framework (MOF) based mixed matrix membranes is fabricated with ordered structure, proving the proposed hypothesis in IonFracMem. The membranes demonstrated superior selectivity towards lithium ions as compared to bivalent ions.
The WP3 of the project aims to dive into the fundamental understanding and numerical modelling on facilitated ion transport. A tailored CFD model involving the micro-scale mobility coefficients of ions was developed for describing separation mechanisms of monovalent selective membranes. The models can probe into the interplay of key membrane properties without extensive laboratory experiments. The key results have led to one conference proceeding and two manuscripts under preparation/review, including the oral presentation titled “CFD simulation of electrodialysis system using selective ion exchange membranes” in Euromembrane conference 2024, one manuscript on “Parametric Optimization of Layer-by-Layer Coated Ion Exchange Membrane” was in submission stage, and “Intensifying transition metal ion removal and recovery from acidic wastewater via electrodialysis (ED) -based process” was published in Water Research, 2025.
Overall, the results achieved so far are according to the project scope and planning.
The WP2 of the project is focused on enabling high throughput and highly ion selective site formation in composite membranes of rigid nature. Thus far a set of novel metal organic framework (MOF) based mixed matrix membranes is fabricated with ordered structure, proving the proposed hypothesis in IonFracMem. The membranes demonstrated superior selectivity towards lithium ions as compared to bivalent ions.
The WP3 of the project aims to dive into the fundamental understanding and numerical modelling on facilitated ion transport. A tailored CFD model involving the micro-scale mobility coefficients of ions was developed for describing separation mechanisms of monovalent selective membranes. The models can probe into the interplay of key membrane properties without extensive laboratory experiments. The key results have led to one conference proceeding and two manuscripts under preparation/review, including the oral presentation titled “CFD simulation of electrodialysis system using selective ion exchange membranes” in Euromembrane conference 2024, one manuscript on “Parametric Optimization of Layer-by-Layer Coated Ion Exchange Membrane” was in submission stage, and “Intensifying transition metal ion removal and recovery from acidic wastewater via electrodialysis (ED) -based process” was published in Water Research, 2025.
Overall, the results achieved so far are according to the project scope and planning.
Within the project, we expect to design novel facilitated ion exchange membranes using an interdisciplinary approach based on electrochemistry, which synergizes with the interaction between target ion and functional materials to form ion selective sites in the membrane and thus facilitate its transport. At the same time, we are exploring the mechanisms as to how the membrane structure is formed and how to correlate membrane properties with the free energy barriers of ion transport through the membranes, which still remains as a key knowledge gap in the field. The project is expected to contribute to both the membrane development and ion separation theories.