Macroscopic Heterostructure Membrane of Graphene Oxide/Porous Graphene/Graphene Oxide for Selective Separation of Deuterium Water from Natural Water

Deuterium water (D2O) is a strategic material that is widely used in and scientific research and has applications in fields such as nuclear energy generation. However, its content in natural water is extremely low. Therefore, the development of a room-temperature technology for achieving simple, efficient, and low-cost separation of D2O from natural water is challenging. In this study, porous graphene (PG) nanosheets with crater-like pores are sandwiched between two layers of graphene oxide (GO) membranes to prepare a GO/PG/GO membrane with a macroscopic heterostructure, which can be used to separate D2O and H2O by pressure-driven filtration. At 25 degrees C, the rejection rate of D2O is approximate to 97%, the selectivity of H2O/D2O is approximate to 35.2, and the excellent performance can be attributed to the difference of transmembrane resistance and flow state of H2O and D2O in the confinement state. In addition, the D2O concentration in natural water is successfully enriched from 0.013% to 0.059% using only one stage, and the membrane exhibits excellent structural and cycling stability. Therefore, this method does not require ultralow temperatures, high energy supplies, complex separation equipment, or the introduction of toxic chemicals. Thus, it can be directly applied to the large-scale industrial production and removal of D2O.

Automated summary

This study developed a room-temperature technology for separating deuterium water (D2O) from natural water using porous graphene (PG) nanosheets sandwiched between graphene oxide (GO) membranes. The method achieved simple, efficient, and low-cost separation of D2O and H2O by pressure-driven filtration. The method showed a high rejection rate of D2O and excellent structural and cycling stability, making it suitable for large-scale industrial production and removal of D2O.