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Microporous polymer membranes continue to receive tremendous attention for energy-efficient gas separation processes owing to their high separation performances. A new network microporous polyamide membrane with good molecular-sieving performance for the separation of N2 from a volatile organic compound (VOC) mixture is described. Triple-substituted triptycene was used as the main monomer to form a fisherman's net-shaped polymer, which readily forms a composite membrane by solution casting. This membrane exhibited outstanding separation performance and good stability for the molecular-sieving separation of N2 over VOCs such as cyclohexane. The rejection rate of the membrane reached 99.2 % with 2098 Barrer N2 permeability at 24 °C under 4 kPa. This approach promotes development of microporous membranes for separation of condensable gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) materials of atomic thickness have emerged as nano-building blocks to develop high-performance separation membranes that feature unique nanopores and/or nanochannels. These 2D-material membranes exhibit extraordinary permeation properties, opening a new avenue to ultra-fast and highly selective membranes for water and gas separation. Summarized in this Minireview are the latest ground-breaking studies in 2D-material membranes as nanosheet and laminar membranes, with a focus on starting materials, nanostructures, and transport properties. Challenges and future directions of 2D-material membranes for wide implementation are discussed briefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Graphene oxide (GO) laminates possess unprecedented fast water-transport channels. However, how to fully utilize these unique channels in order to maximize the separation properties of GO laminates remains a challenge. Here, a bio-inspired membrane that couples an ultrathin surface water-capturing polymeric layer (<10 nm) and GO laminates is designed. The proposed synergistic effect of highly enhanced water sorption from the polymeric layer and molecular channels from the GO laminates realizes fast and selective water transport through the integrated membrane. The prepared membrane exhibits highly selective water permeation with an excellent water flux of over 10 000 g m−2 h−1, which exceeds the performance upper bound of state-of-the-art membranes for butanol dehydration. This bio-inspired strategy demonstrated here opens the door to explore fast and selective channels derived from 2D or 3D materials for highly efficient molecular separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were engineered to be assembled into laminar structures having fast and selective transport channels for gas separation. With molecular-sieving interlayer spaces and straight diffusion pathways, the GO laminates endowed as-prepared membranes with excellent preferential CO2 permeation performance (CO2 permeability: 100 Barrer, CO2/N2 selectivity: 91) and extraordinary operational stability (>6000 min), which are attractive for implementation of practical CO2 capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, novel three-dimensional graphene films (3D GFs) with controllable pore structures are directly fabricated on gold substrates through the hydrothermal reduction. An interfacial technique of the self-assembled monolayer is successfully introduced to address the binding issue between the graphene film and substrate. Adscititious silica spheres, serving as new connection centers, effectively regulate the dimensions of framework in graphene films, and secondary pore structures are produced once removing the spheres. Based on hierarchically porous 3D GFs with large surface area, excellent binding strength, high conductivity, and distinct interfacial micro-environments, selected examples of electrochemical aptasensors are constructed for the assay of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and thrombin (Tob) respectively. Sensitive ATP and Tob aptasensors, with high selectivity, excellent stability, and promising potential in real serum sample analysis, are established on 3D GFs with different structures. The results demonstrate that the surface area, as well as interfacial micro-environments, plays a critical role in the molecular recognition. The developed reliable and scalable protocol is envisaged to become a general path for in situ fabrication of more graphene films and the as-synthesized 3D GFs would open up a wide horizon for potential applications in electronic and energy-related systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast, selective gas‐transport channels formed by graphene oxide sheets arranged in layers in membranes are reported by W. Jin and co‐workers in their Communication on page 578 ff. Featuring molecular‐sieving interlayer spaces and straight diffusion pathways, the assembled graphene oxide laminates are shown to endow the gas‐separation membranes with degrees of selective CO2 permeation and operational stability that are attractive for implementation in practical CO2 capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schnell und selektiv ist der Gastransport in Membrankanälen, die von schichtförmig angeordneten Graphenoxidblättern gebildet werden. Darüber berichten W. Jin et al. in der Zuschrift auf S. 588 ff. Mit Zwischenräumen, die als Molekülsiebe wirken, und direkten Diffusionspfaden verleihen die Graphenoxidlaminate Gastrennmembranen eine selektive CO2 ‐ Durchlässigkeit und Betriebsfestigkeit, die vielversprechend für eine Implementierung zur CO2 ‐ Abscheidung sind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]