瑞士弗里堡大学Ianiro Alessandro团队报道了用于能量转换的大面积自愈嵌段共聚物膜。相关研究成果发表在2024年6月5日出版的《自然》。

膜广泛用于海水淡化、电池和透析等应用中的分离过程，在经济和社会的关键部门中至关重要。大多数技术开发的膜都是基于固体聚合物，起到被动屏障的作用，其传输特性由其化学成分和纳米结构决定。尽管这种膜普遍存在，但事实证明，独立地最大限度地提高选择性和渗透性具有挑战性，导致在这些相关特性之间进行权衡。自组装生物膜的屏障和运输功能是解耦的，为解决这一问题提供了灵感。

该文中，研究人员介绍了一种自组装策略，该策略使用水两相系统的界面来模板化和稳定，可扩展面积超过10cm²且没有缺陷的分子薄（约35nm）仿生嵌段共聚物双层。这些膜是自修复的，其对离子通过的屏障功能（比电阻约为1MΩcm²）接近磷脂膜。

这些膜的流动性使得能够用分子载体进行直接的功能化，该分子载体以优异的选择性将钾离子沿着浓度梯度向下穿梭，而不是钠离子。这种离子选择性使得能够在模拟电射线的电器官的设备中，从NaCl和KCl的等摩尔溶液中产生电力。

附：英文原文

Title: Large-area, self-healing block copolymer membranes for energy conversion

Author: Sproncken, Christian C. M., Liu, Peng, Monney, Justin, Fall, William S., Pierucci, Carolina, Scholten, Philip B. V., Van Bueren, Brian, Penedo, Marcos, Fantner, Georg Ernest, Wensink, Henricus H., Steiner, Ullrich, Weder, Christoph, Bruns, Nico, Mayer, Michael, Ianiro, Alessandro

Issue&Volume: 2024-06-05

Abstract: Membranes are widely used for separation processes in applications such as water desalination, batteries and dialysis, and are crucial in key sectors of our economy and society1. The majority of technologically exploited membranes are based on solid polymers and function as passive barriers, whose transport characteristics are governed by their chemical composition and nanostructure. Although such membranes are ubiquitous, it has proved challenging to maximize selectivity and permeability independently, leading to trade-offs between these pertinent characteristics2. Self-assembled biological membranes, in which barrier and transport functions are decoupled3,4, provide the inspiration to address this problem5,6. Here we introduce a self-assembly strategy that uses the interface of an aqueous two-phase system to template and stabilize molecularly thin (approximately 35nm) biomimetic block copolymer bilayers of scalable area that can exceed 10cm2 without defects. These membranes are self-healing, and their barrier function against the passage of ions (specific resistance of approximately 1MΩcm2) approaches that of phospholipid membranes. The fluidity of these membranes enables straightforward functionalization with molecular carriers that shuttle potassium ions down a concentration gradient with exquisite selectivity over sodium ions. This ion selectivity enables the generation of electric power from equimolar solutions of NaCl and KCl in devices that mimic the electric organ of electric rays.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07481-2

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07481-2