Ultrafast aquaporin-like multi-functionalized holey graphene membrane with tripartite nanochannels for organic solvent nanofiltration

Innovating next-generation two-dimensional (2D) membranes necessitates overcoming their selectivity/perme-ability trade-off limitations. Unlike most 2D multi-stacked membranes, where their water permeability always occurred through the single d-spacing channel, we engineered a novel aquaporin-like multi-functionalized holey graphene (HG) membrane with the potential of tripartite nanochannels. Through this strategy, high selectivity, superior permeability, and chemical stability were achieved. The utilized facile in-situ crosslinking methodology enabled the creation of a unique membrane featuring an aquaporin-like wide/tight interlayer d-spacing deco-rated with multifunctional SiO2 nanoparticles, in addition to direct nanochannels of HG. This unique structure boosted the solvent permeability by more than ten times without sacrificing the selectivity. This distinctive membrane category displayed excellent selectivity with a performance higher than 96% for dye rejection. This novel membrane has great potential to be utilized in various organic solvent nanofiltration and wastewater purification applications with extraordinary ability to surpass the permeance/separation trade-off.