Fast Reduced Graphene-Based Membranes with High Desalination Performance

Graphene-oxide (GO) membrane with notable ions sieving properties has attracted significant attention for many applications. However, because of the water swelling of GO membrane, the rejection of monovalent metal cations is generally low. In this work, we developed a fast and facile method to fabricate a kind of reduced GO membranes using the thermal treatment method at 160 & DEG;C for only one minute, which denoted as fast reduced GO membrane (FRGO). Surprising, the FRGO membrane represents high ion sieving ability and ultrahigh water/ions selectivity, compared with other reduced GO membranes with similar average interlayer spacings, and even superior to most of GO-based membranes reported in literature. Building on these findings, we provide a new light on fabricating of energy- and environment-related high desalination performance of GO-based membranes as well as a new insight into the transport mechanism within 2D laminar nanochannels.

Automated summary

The fast reduced graphene-oxide (FRGO) membrane fabricated through a quick thermal treatment method demonstrates high ion sieving ability and ultrahigh water/ions selectivity, outperforming most other reduced GO membranes and even surpassing many GO-based membranes reported in literature. This offers new possibilities for high desalination performance in energy and environment-related applications, as well as insights into transport mechanisms within 2D laminar nanochannels.