Ion transport regulation through triblock copolymer/PET asymmetric nanochannel membrane: Model system establishment and rectification mapping

Controlling ions transport across the membrane at different pH environments is essential for the physiological process and artificial systems. Many efforts have been devoted to pH-responsive ion gating, while rarely systems can maintain the rectification in pH-changing environments. Here, a composite nanochannel system is fabricated, which shows unidirectional rectification with high performance in a wide pH range. In the system, block copolymer (BCP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are employed for the amphoteric nanochannels fabrication. Based on the composite system, a model is built for the theoretical simulation. Thereafter, rectification mapping is conducted on the system, which can provide abundant information about the relations between charge distribution and ions transport properties. The proposed rectification mapping can definitely help to design new materials with special ion transport properties, such as high-performance membranes used in the salinity gradient power generation field. (C) 2020 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A composite nanochannel system was fabricated in this study, showing high-performance unidirectional rectification in a wide pH range, with a theoretical simulation model built based on the system. Rectification mapping provided insights into the relationship between charge distribution and ions transport properties, aiding the design of new materials, such as high-performance membranes.