L-Cysteine-Modified Graphene Oxide-Based Membrane for Chiral Selective Separation

A novel chiral separation membrane was fabricated by assembling L-cysteine (L-Cys)-modified graphene oxide sheets. L-Cys modification leads to an enantiomer separation membrane with an accessible interlayer spacing of 8 angstrom, which allows high solvent permeability. In the racemate separation experiments under isobaric conditions, the enantiomeric excess (ee) values of alanine (Ala), threonine (Thr), tyrosine (Tyr), and penicillamine (Pen) racemates in the permeation solution were 43.60, 44.11, 27.43, and 46.44%, respectively. In the racemate separation experiments under negative pressure, the separation performances of Ala, Thr, and Tyr were still maintained, and the enantiomeric excess (ee) values of the filtrate after separation were 56.80, 54.57, and 32.34%, respectively. These results indicate that the as-prepared GO-Cys membrane has a great practical value in the field of enantiomer separation.

Automated summary

A novel chiral separation membrane was successfully fabricated by assembling L-cysteine-modified graphene oxide sheets, showing high solvent permeability and separation performance. The membrane demonstrated good separation of racemates including alanine, threonine, and tyrosine in experiments, indicating its practical value in enantiomer separation.