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Improved osmotic energy conversion in heterogeneous membrane boosted by three-dimensional hydrogel interface

Author

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  • Zhen Zhang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Technische Universität Dresden)

  • Li He

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Congcong Zhu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yongchao Qian

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Liping Wen

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Lei Jiang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

The emerging heterogeneous membranes show unprecedented superiority in harvesting the osmotic energy between ionic solutions of different salinity. However, the power densities are limited by the low interfacial transport efficiency caused by a mismatch of pore alignment and insufficient coupling between channels of different dimensions. Here we demonstrate the use of three-dimensional (3D) gel interface to achieve high-performance osmotic energy conversion through hybridizing polyelectrolyte hydrogel and aramid nanofiber membrane. The ionic diode effect of the heterogeneous membrane facilitates one-way ion diffusion, and the gel layer provides a charged 3D transport network, greatly enhancing the interfacial transport efficiency. When used for harvesting the osmotic energy from the mixing of sea and river water, the heterogeneous membrane outperforms the state-of-the-art membranes, to the best of our knowledge, with power densities of 5.06 W m−2. The diversity of the polyelectrolyte and gel makes our strategy a potentially universal approach for osmotic energy conversion.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhen Zhang & Li He & Congcong Zhu & Yongchao Qian & Liping Wen & Lei Jiang, 2020. "Improved osmotic energy conversion in heterogeneous membrane boosted by three-dimensional hydrogel interface," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-14674-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14674-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Chengcheng Zhu & Li Xu & Yazi Liu & Jiang Liu & Jin Wang & Hanjun Sun & Ya-Qian Lan & Chen Wang, 2024. "Polyoxometalate-based plasmonic electron sponge membrane for nanofluidic osmotic energy conversion," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Jiadong Tang & Yun Wang & Hongyang Yang & Qianqian Zhang & Ce Wang & Leyuan Li & Zilong Zheng & Yuhong Jin & Hao Wang & Yifan Gu & Tieyong Zuo, 2024. "All-natural 2D nanofluidics as highly-efficient osmotic energy generators," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Jin Wang & Zheng Cui & Shangzhen Li & Zeyuan Song & Miaolu He & Danxi Huang & Yuan Feng & YanZheng Liu & Ke Zhou & Xudong Wang & Lei Wang, 2024. "Unlocking osmotic energy harvesting potential in challenging real-world hypersaline environments through vermiculite-based hetero-nanochannels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Mai, Van-Phung & Yang, Ruey-Jen, 2020. "Boosting power generation from salinity gradient on high-density nanoporous membrane using thermal effect," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    5. Puying Li & Yajie Hu & Wenya He & Bing Lu & Haiyan Wang & Huhu Cheng & Liangti Qu, 2023. "Multistage coupling water-enabled electric generator with customizable energy output," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    6. Ren, Qinlong & Zhu, Huangyi & Chen, Kelei & Zhang, J.F. & Qu, Z.G., 2022. "Similarity principle based multi-physical parameter unification and comparison in salinity-gradient osmotic energy conversion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    7. Song, Dongxing & Li, Lu & Huang, Ce & Wang, Ke, 2023. "Synergy between ionic thermoelectric conversion and nanofluidic reverse electrodialysis for high power density generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    8. Donghwan Ji & Jae Min Park & Myeong Seon Oh & Thanh Loc Nguyen & Hyunsu Shin & Jae Seong Kim & Dukjoon Kim & Ho Seok Park & Jaeyun Kim, 2022. "Superstrong, superstiff, and conductive alginate hydrogels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    9. Jiao, Yanmei & Yang, Chun & Zhang, Wenyao & Wang, Qiuwang & Zhao, Cunlu, 2024. "A review on direct osmotic power generation: Mechanism and membranes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

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