Bioinspired Microgel-Loaded Smart Membrane Filtration with the Thermo- and Ion-Dual Responsive Water Gate for Selective Lead(II) Separation.

Lead (Pb) is a ubiquitous pollutant. Membrane filtration represents one of the most common water treatment methods, but nanofiltration and ultrafiltration require high transmembrane pressure, while microfiltration has larger pore sizes than ions, making them unfavorable for direct ion removal at low cost. Selective and direct separation of Pb via membrane filtration at high efficiency without sacrificing the flux of clean water still remains challenging.