Efficient ethanol/water separation via functionalized nanoporous graphene membranes: insights from molecular dynamics study
Source abstract
Abstract
Systematic molecular dynamics simulations are conducted to study the separation of ethanol/water mixture through single-layer graphene with designed nanoscale pores. The effects of pore size, chemical functionalization, and applied pressure were investigated. It was found that the diameter of pore plays a key role for efficient separation of ethanol from water. With appropriate diameter, water molecules can pass through but flow of ethanol is essentially blocked. Compared to hydrophobic, hydrophilic functionalization is found to be more efficient for ethanol/water separation as energy barrier for water molecule is less than ethanol in case of hydrophilic porous graphene membrane. Overall, our results indicate that the flux through hydrophilic functionalized (P2_OH) graphene membrane is nearly four times higher than conventional reverse osmosis membranes with a good selectivity for ethanol/water separation. This simulation study provides molecular-level understanding of ethanol/water separation through functionalized nonporous graphene and reveals the key governing factors that are essential for designing novel graphene membranes for bioethanol purification.
Source: openaire · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Graphene research and applications · Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies · Membrane Separation Technologies
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (84)
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