Membrane separators are key elements of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), especially of those constructed in a dual-chamber configuration. Until now, membranes made of Nafion have been applied the most widely to set-up MFCs. However, there is a broader agreement in the literature that Nafion is expensive and in many cases, does not meet the actual (mainly mass transfer-specific) requirements demanded by the process and users. Driven by these issues, there has been notable progress in the development of alternative materials for membrane fabrication, among which those relying on the deployment of ionic liquids are emerging. In this review, the background of and recent advances in ionic liquid-containing separators, particularly supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs), designed for MFC applications are addressed and evaluated. After an assessment of the basic criteria to be fulfilled by membranes in MFCs, experiences with SILMs will be outlined, along with important aspects of transport processes. Finally, a comparison with the literature is presented to elaborate on how MFCs installed with SILM perform relative to similar systems assembled with other, e.g., Nafion, membranes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/membranes10010016 | DOI Listing |
Nanoscale
January 2025
Centre for Nano Science and Nano Technology, S 'O' A (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar-751 030, Odisha, India.
Titanium (Ti)-based MOFs are promising materials known for their porosity, stability, diverse valence states, and a lower conduction band (CB) than Zr-MOFs. These features support stable ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) transitions under photoirradiation, enhancing photocatalytic performance. However, Ti-MOF structures remain a challenge owing to the highly volatile and hydrophilic nature of ionic Ti precursors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInorg Chem
January 2025
School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States.
While several ligand systems support uranium across a range of oxidation states, spanning more than two oxidation states in a conserved coordination geometry is uncommon among structurally authenticated complexes. Imidophosphorane ligands significantly stabilize high-valent lanthanide and actinide complexes. Here, we report a series of homoleptic uranium imidophosphorane complexes, spanning the +4, +5 and +6 oxidation states in a four-coordinate pseudotetrahedral ligand field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomacromolecules
January 2025
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
As an abundant renewable natural material, starch has attracted unprecedented interest in the biomedical field. Carboxylated starch particles have been investigated for topical hemostasis, but the powder may not provide physical protection or support for wounds. Here, we prepared macroporous cryogel sponges of methacrylated carboxymethyl starch (CM-ST-MA) containing a covalent and a calcium ionic double network.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Pharm
January 2025
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 51006 China. Electronic address:
Androgenic alopecia (AGA), the most prevalent type of progressive hair loss, currently lacks an effective topical treatment regimen. In this study, we synthesized an ionic liquid (IL) to co-solubilize minoxidil (MXD) and finasteride (FIN) and subsequently formulated them into an in situ thermosensitive ionic liquid/cyclodextrin/poloxamer hydrogel (ICPG), termed M + F@ICPG. M + F@ICPG was developed for the transdermal co-delivery of these two drugs, aiming to provide a multipath therapeutic approach for AGA while avoiding the adverse effects commonly associated with oral FIN and topical MXD tincture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Isotope Science Center, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan. Electronic address:
The adsorption reaction on clay minerals is crucial for understanding the environmental behavior of various cations, including cesium (Cs). However, its details remain unclear because of multiple adsorption sites of the clay minerals, a significant difference between concentrations in the atomic-scale experiments and the actual environment, and difficulties of evaluating bonding states of the adsorbed cations. It is expected that systematic experiments at the atomic-scale with a wide concentration range and application of density functional theory (DFT) calculations overcome the problems and bring crucial insights to link laboratory experiment results with environmental sample analysis.
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