ABSTRACT Channeled polymeric membranes with high ion permeability are favored for applications such as water purification, energy conversion, and storage in devices like electro dialyzer units and batteries. Yet, conventional designs of ion transport channels in these membranes suffer from notable swelling and a reduction in ion transport efficiency, posing significant drawbacks. In this regard, we propose Aquaporin ion conducting channels (AICs) in aquaporin ion-conducting membranes (AIM), a revolutionary approach to enhance stability and energy efficient desalination performance that is inspired by aquaporins. AIM uses sulfonated silicon dioxide to create ion exchange sites that self-assemble and are supported by electrostatic interactions to resemble aquaporin channels. Created ion conductive channels built of sulfonated silicon dioxide achieve a stunning 18% reduction in membrane resistance compared to conventional designs. Membranes increasing ion permeability by up to 21%, the incorporation of hydrophilic sulfonated silicon dioxide (S-SiO2) improves water retention. (AIM) ion-conducting channel membrane, which still has lower resistance than conventional membranes, significantly increases desalination efficiency by 30%. By overcoming issues related swelling and achieving significant improvements in ion permeability and desalination efficiency, the specially designed ion-conductive channels offer a pathway toward more energy-efficient electrodialysis desalination in practical water and wastewater treatment applications.
Farman et al. (Fri,) studied this question.