Preparation techniques of nanopores in ultrathin membranes using energetic heavy ions

Nanopores in ultrathin membranes due to their excellent physical and chemical properties have shown great potential in applications of multiple research areas, such as physics, biology, electronics and nanotechnology. Therefore it is especially important to choose an efficient, facile, and controllable fabrication method in order to obtain high-quality nanopores. The irradiation of energetic heavy ions not only is a powerful method to modify material properties, but also has unique advantages in the field of nanopores fabrication. The Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, Peking University, has made remarkable progress in the development of nanopores in ultrathin films based on energetic heavy ion irradiation. The ultrathin film materials include traditional organic polymer films and novel two-dimensional materials. In this manuscript, we mainly report the fabrication techniques and applications of nanopores in ultrathin membranes, providing a reference for further investigating the fabrication of other artificial solid-state nanopores with irradiation of energetic heavy ions. Nanopores in ultrathin films have wide application prospects, but how to efficiently and controllably prepare nanopores that meet the requirements is the basis for the above applications. Energetic heavy ion irradiation technology has great potential in the preparation of nanopores. In recent years, the preparation of new two-dimensional porous materials, such as monolayer graphene and MoS2 has made great progress, and these two-dimension materials are applied in many fields such as seawater desalination, gas separation and bionic channels. The Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, Peking University, has carried out research on the preparation and applications of nanopores in ultrathin membranes based on the energetic heavy ion irradiation technology, established the preparation process of track-etched organic polymer membranes, and carried out its research on nanofluidic diodes and nanoparticle detection. Meanwhile, we successfully developed a method for preparing nanopores in two-dimension materials based on energetic heavy ions, which can prepare sub-nanopores with high density and controllable size. It has shown excellent performance in applications such as separation of ions, osmotic energy harvesting, and nanofluids. What's more, the related physical mechanisms have also been studied in depth. In this paper, the techniques for preparing nanopores in organic polymer films and nanopores in two-dimension materials by irradiation of energetic heavy ions are introduced respectively. The first part mainly introduces the preparations and applications of nanopores in organic polymer films. Firstly, the preparation process and unique advantages of track-etched membranes are described. In addition, the recent progress of our group in the adjustment of pore size and modification of single nanopores are introduced. Furthermore, the applications of track-etched membranes in energy conversion, molecule sensing detection and ion sieving are also shown in this part. Next, the preparation and applications of nanopores in two-dimension materials are introduced. In recent years, our group has studied the preparation technology of two-dimensional materials (monolayer graphene and MoS2) and the formation mechanism of nanopores. At the same time, the application of nanopores in two-dimension materials in the field of energy conversion and nanofluid is explored. The technology of nanopores in ultrathin films is in the ascendant, and more in-depth exploration and research are of great significance.

Automated summary

Nanopores in ultrathin membranes have great potential in various research areas and energetic heavy ion irradiation is an efficient method for their fabrication. The Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, Peking University, has made remarkable progress in the development of nanopores in ultrathin films. This paper reports the fabrication techniques, applications, and future prospects of nanopores in ultrathin membranes.