Confined Nano-Channels Incorporated with Multi-Quaternized Cations for Highly Phosphoric Acid Retention HT-PEMs.

Developing a new strategy to retain phosphoric acid (PA) to improve the performance and durability of high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) remains a challenge. Here, a strategy for ion-restricted catcher microstructure that incorporates PA-doped multi-quaternized poly(fluorene alkylene-co-biphenyl alkylene) (PFBA) bearing confined nanochannels is reported. Dynamic analysis reveals strong interaction between side chains and PA molecules, confirming that the microstructure can improve PA retention.

Large-Area Soluble Covalent Organic Framework Oligomer Coating for Organic Solution Nanofiltration Membranes.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a family of engaging membrane materials for molecular separation, which remain challenging to fabricate in the form of thin-film composite membranes due to slow crystal growth and insoluble powder. Here, an additive approach is presented to construct COF-based thin-film composite membranes in 10 min via COF oligomer coating onto poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK）ultrafiltration membranes. By the virtue of ultra-thin liquid phase and liquid-solid interface-confined assembly, the COF oligomers are fast stacked up and grow along the interface with the solvent evaporation.

Phosphonated Ionomers of Intrinsic Microporosity with Partially Ordered Structure for High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

High mass transport resistance within the catalyst layer is one of the major factors restricting the performance and low Pt loadings of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). To resolve the issue, a novel partially ordered phosphonated ionomer (PIM-P) with both an intrinsic microporous structure and proton-conductive functionality was designed as the catalyst binder to improve the mass transport of electrodes. The rigid and contorted structure of PIM-P limits the free movement of the conformation and the efficient packing of polymer chains, resulting in the formation of a robust gas transmission channel.

A Novel Material for High-Performance Li-O Battery Separator: Polyetherketone Nanofiber Membrane.

The properties of separators significantly affect the efficiency, stability, and safety of the lithium-based batteries. Therefore, the improvement of the separator material is critical. Polyetherketone (PEK) has excellent general properties, such as mechanical strength, chemical stability, and thermal stability.

Nano-Interlayers Fabricated via Interfacial Azo-Coupling Polymerization: Effect of Pore Properties of Interlayers on Overall Performance of Thin-Film Composite for Nanofiltration.

The supporting layer of nanofiltration membranes is critical to the overall nanofiltration performance. However, conventional supports lack efficient surface porosity, which leads to the limited utilization rate of the polyamide (PA) layer. Herein a double-skin-layer nanofiltration membrane with porous organic polymer nanointerlayers prepared via a two-step interfacial polymerization technique is presented to investigate the effect of the interlayers' pore properties on the performance of the thin-film composite.

High-efficiency Pd nanoparticles loaded porous organic polymers membrane catalytic reactors.

An innovative tactic to prepare porous organic polymer membranes was developed via interfacial azo-coupling polymerization. The membranes possess plentiful anchoring sites for loading Pd nanoparticles, and served as a membrane reactor, which exhibits high-performance catalytic reduction with a flux of 27.3 t m day and good long-term stability due to almost zero Pd leaching.

Patterned, anti-fouling membrane with controllable wettability for ultrafast oil/water separation and liquid-liquid extraction.

A novel liquid-infused, patterned, porous membrane system with anti-fouling characteristics is prepared via simple co-infusion of oil and water within hydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces of a porous membrane, respectively. This membrane simultaneously repels the immiscible water and oil exhibiting excellent interfacial floatability at the oil-water interface as a separator, thus showing promise for use in applications in the immiscible oil/water separation industry and liquid-liquid extraction.

A liquid-based Janus porous membrane for convenient liquid-liquid extraction and immiscible oil/water separation.

A novel liquid-based Janus porous membrane system was developed through the simple infusion of water and oil within different surfaces. This generates a stable liquid-infusion interface that repels immiscible organic solvents and water, and itself floats at the oil/water interface as a separator. The developed membrane successfully acts as a simple alternative for high-performance liquid separation.

Chlorine-resistant sulfochlorinated and sulfonated polysulfone for reverse osmosis membranes by coating method.

In this work, sulfochlorinated polysulfone (SC-PSf), a functional polysulfone with chlorine resistance, was synthesized through metalation sulfochlorination of polysulfone (PSf). For endowing the required hydrophilicity of SC-PSf, the sulfonyl chloride groups on SC-PSf were partially hydrolyzed to sulfonic groups to produce sulfonated SC-PSf (SC-S-PSf). Thin film composite (TFC) membranes for reverse osmosis application were fabricated by coating solution of SC-S-PSf on porous PSf substrate and then crosslinked by piperazine (PIP) to form polysulfone-sulfamide (PSSA) skin layer.

Janus porous membrane with conical nanoneedle channel for rapid unidirectional water transport.

The pierced nanowire Janus porous membrane prepared in this study possesses piercing conical nanoneedles, which not only form a transport channel to enhance unidirectional water transport, but also reduce the energy barrier of water transport by changing the route of water transport from droplet to film.

Bioinspired superhydrophilic-hydrophobic integrated surface with conical pattern-shape for self-driven fog collection.

It is well recognized by the scientific community that the fog can be deposited and transported on asymmetric surfaces, thus numerous efforts have been made to create such surfaces. However, it is still challenging to design a surface capable of fast deposition and rapid transportation simultaneously. Herein, inspired by the asymmetric structure of cactus spines and the cooperative hydrophilic/hydrophobic regions of desert beetles, a superhydrophilic-hydrophobic integrated conical stainless steel needle (SHCSN) is fabricated by a facile method.

Preparation and characterization of an antibacterial ultrafiltration membrane with N-chloramine functional groups.

In this study, a cardo poly(aryl ether ketone) ultrafiltration membrane containing an N-chloramine functional group (PEK-N-Cl membrane) was easily obtained via exposure of a cardo poly(aryl ether ketone) ultrafiltration membrane (PEK-NH membrane) to dilute sodium hypochlorite solution. The chlorination process did not harm membrane performance. In addition, the PEK-N-Cl membrane was stable in both air and water.

Mixed-matrix membranes incorporated with porous shape-persistent organic cages for gas separation.

There has been much recent interest in the use of porous materials derived from self-assembling, shape-persistent organic cages due to their solubility and easy post-synthetic modification. Herein we report the preparation of novel mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) employing the porous organic cage Noria and its derivatives Noria-Boc and Noria-COBu as the fillers, and a fluorine containing polyimide, 6FDA-DAM, as the polymeric matrix. The physical structures and properties of Noria and its derivatives were measured and investigated.

Thin film composite nanofiltration membranes fabricated from quaternized poly(ether ether ketone) with crosslinkable moiety using a benign solvent.

Thin film composite nanofiltration membranes were fabricated through dip-coating and in situ cross-linking of quaternized poly(ether ether ketone) containing a certain amount of tertiary amine groups (QAPEEKs) on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) support. The effects of the variables in membrane formation such as the coating polymer concentration, the curing temperature, and the cross-linking agent types on resultant membrane were studied and the membrane properties such as the barrier layer chemical structure, the surface element composition and morphology were investigated. The obtained performance of uncross-linked and cross-linked QAPEEK-70 thin film composites in nanofiltration test was compared.

Novel functionalized microporous organic networks based on triphenylphosphine.

This article describes the synthesis and functions of phosphine or phosphine oxide functionalized networks (PP-P or PP-PO; PP = porous polymer). These materials were predominantly microporous and exhibited high surface areas (S(BET): 1284 and 1353 m(2)  g(-1) for PP-P and PP-PO, respectively), with high CO2 (2.46 and 3.

Electrochemical route to fabricate film-like conjugated microporous polymers and application for organic electronics.

Film-like conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are fabricated by the novel strategy of carbazole-based electropolymerization. The CMP film storing a mass of counterions acting as an anode interlayer provides a significant power-conversion efficiency of 7.56% in polymer solar cells and 20.

Ultrathin films of organic networks as nanofiltration membranes via solution-based molecular layer deposition.

Ultrathin films of organic networks on various substrates were fabricated through the solution-based molecular layer deposition (MLD) technique. The rigid tetrahedral geometries of polyfunctional amine and acyl chloride involved in the reaction ensure the continuity of the polymerization process. A linear increase in film thickness with respect to cycle number was observed by UV-vis adsorption, ellipsometry, and quartz crystal microbalance.

Assembly of an unbalanced charged polyampholyte onto Nafion® to produce high-performance composite membranes.

A novel SPES-NH(2)-GA-Nafion® composite membrane with higher proton conductivity and lower methanol permeability was fabricated by covalent crosslinking layer-by-layer self-assembly of an unbalanced charged polyampholyte (SPES-NH(2)) and glutaraldehyde (GA) with controllable free sulfonic acid content.

A novel guanidinium grafted poly(aryl ether sulfone) for high-performance hydroxide exchange membranes.

A novel poly(aryl ether sulfone) ionomer containing hexaalkylguanidinium groups was synthesized, and membranes formed from this polymer displayed large ionic clusters, high hydroxide conductivity, and excellent solubility in low boiling point water-soluble solvents such as ethanol and methanol.

Ionic-liquid-grafted rigid poly(p-phenylene) microspheres: efficient heterogeneous media for metal scavenging and catalysis.

Novel guanidinium ionic liquid-grafted rigid poly(p-phenylene) (PPPIL) microspheres have been developed for metal scavenging and catalysis. The noble-metal nanoparticles supported on the microspheres surface can be used as efficient heterogeneous catalysts. The combination of nanoparticles and ionic liquid fragments on the microsphere surfaces enhance the activity and durability of the catalyst.

Fabrication of superhydrophobic cellulose-based materials through a solution-immersion process.

An industrial waterproof reagent [(potassium methyl siliconate) (PMS)] was used for fabricating a superhydrophobic surface on a cellulose-based material (cotton fabric or paper) through a solution-immersion method. This method involves a hydrogen bond assembly and a polycondensation process. The silanol, which was formed by a reaction of PMS aqueous solution with CO 2, was assembled on the cellulose molecule surface via hydrogen bond interactions.

Layer-by-layer assembly of single-charged ions with a rigid polyampholyte.

A novel method to produce multilayer films has been developed by layer-by-layer assembly of single-charged ions and a rigid polyampholyte containing unbalanced charges in each of its repeat units.

Facile transformation of hydrophilic cellulose into superhydrophobic cellulose.

Superhydrophobic cellulose-based materials coupled with transparent, stable and nanoscale polymethylsiloxane coating have been successfully achieved by a simple process via chemical vapor deposition, followed by hydrolyzation and polymerization.

Guanidine/Pd(OAc)2-catalyzed room temperature Suzuki cross-coupling reaction in aqueous media under aerobic conditions.

A highly efficient Pd(OAc)2/guanidine aqueous system for the room temperature Suzuki cross-coupling reaction has been developed. The new water-soluble and air-stable catalyst Pd(OAc)2.(1f)2 from Pd(OAc)2 and 1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-2-n-butylguanidine (1f) was synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography.

Brønsted guanidine acid-base ionic liquids: novel reaction media for the palladium-catalyzed Heck reaction.

[reaction: see text]. Brønsted acid-base ionic liquids (GILs) based on guanidine and acetic acid are efficient reaction media for palladium-catalyzed Heck reactions. They offer the advantages of high activity and reusability.