Tunable Sieving of Ions Using Graphene Oxide: Swelling Peculiarities in Free-Standing and Confined States

The paper describes a comparative study of swelling processes in free-standing graphene oxide (GO) membranes and GO laminates encapsulated with epoxy glue. For free-standing graphene oxide membranes, a huge variation in d-spacing in the range of 8-12 & Aring; depending on the ambient humidity and from 12 to >30 & Aring; depending on the electrolyte type and its concentration was revealed using direct in situ and in operando XRD studies. Limited swelling at various humidity levels as well as in electrolyte solution with low constriction/expansion of epoxy-encapsulated GO is counterposed to that of free-standing graphene oxides. The swelling suppression was explained by both physical constriction and the intercalation of amines into GO laminates, which was proved by local EDX studies. This results in ion diffusivity variation for over 2 orders of magnitude in free-standing and constrained graphene oxide membranes and provides factual evidence for tunable sieving of ions with confined graphene oxides.

Automated summary

This paper presents a comparative study on the swelling processes of free-standing graphene oxide membranes and GO laminates encapsulated with epoxy glue. The research reveals that the d-spacing of free-standing graphene oxide membranes can vary greatly depending on the ambient humidity and electrolyte type and concentration. On the other hand, the swelling of epoxy-encapsulated GO is limited. The physical constriction and intercalation of amines into GO laminates are believed to be the causes of this swelling suppression.