Theory of Ion and Water Transport in Electron-Conducting Membrane Pores with p H-Dependent Chemical Charge

Porous conducting materials with ionizable surface groups provide flexible control of membrane selectivity, but a thorough physical understanding is still needed. In this work, researchers develop a pore model to capture the underlying physics, and achieve good agreement with experimental data. This insight will help to characterize and develop membranes for applications such as reverse electrodialysis and especially desalination, which becomes ever more important for ensuring the world's water supply.