Constructing Fast Transmembrane Pathways in a Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets/Nanoparticles Composite Film for an Inorganic Anion-Exchange Membrane

Anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) with high conductivity are crucial for realizing next-generation energy storage and conversion systems in an alkaline environment, promising a huge advantage in cost reduction without using precious platinum group metal catalysts. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets, exhibiting a remarkably high hydroxide ion (OH-) conductivity approaching 10(-1) S cm(-1) along the in-plane direction, may be regarded as an ideal candidate material for the fabrication of inorganic solid AEMs. However, two-dimensional anisotropy results in a substantially low conductivity of 10(-6) S cm(-1) along the cross-plane direction, which poses a hurdle to achieve fast ion conduction across the membrane comprising restacked nanosheets. In the present work, a composite membrane was prepared based on mixing/assembling micron-sized LDH nanosheets with nanosized LDH platelets (nanoparticles) via a facile vacuum filtration process. The hybridization with nanoparticles could alter the orientation of LDH nanosheets and reduce the restacking order, forming diversified fast ion-conducting pathways and networks in the composite membrane. As a result, the transmembrane conductivity significantly improved up to 1000-fold higher than that composed of restacked nanosheets only, achieving a high conductivity of 10(-2) to 10(-1) S cm(-1) in both in-plane and cross-plane directions.

Automated summary

Researchers prepared a composite membrane by mixing nanoparticles and nanosheets, which improved the conductivity of the anion-exchange membrane. By altering the arrangement of LDH nanosheets, diversified ion-conducting pathways and networks were formed in the membrane, leading to a significant improvement in conductivity.