Ion and Molecular Sieving With Ultrathin Polydopamine Nanomembranes
12th October 2024
In contrast to biological cell membranes, it is still a major challenge for synthetic membranes to efficiently separate ions and small molecules due to their similar sizes in the sub-nanometer range. Inspired by biological ion channels with their unique channel wall chemistry that facilitates ion sieving by ion-channel interactions, the first free-standing, ultrathin (10–17 nm) nanomembranes composed entirely of polydopamine (PDA) are reported here as ion and molecular sieves.
You may not realize it but this is huge. Eventually we want such membranes to be able to filter useful stuff from unuseful stuff, and the better we automate it the better off life will be for all of us.