Ultra‐Thin Self‐Assembled Protein‐Polymer Membranes: A New Pore Forming Strategy

Abstract

Self‐assembled membranes offer a promising alternative for conventional membrane fabrication, especially in the field of ultrafiltration. Here, a new pore‐making strategy is introduced involving stimuli responsive protein‐polymer conjugates self‐assembled across a large surface area using drying‐mediated interfacial self‐assembly. The membrane is flexible and assembled on porous supports. The protein used is the cage protein ferritin and resides within the polymer matrix. Upon denaturation of ferritin, a pore is formed which intrinsically is determined by the size of the protein and how it resides in the matrix. Due to the self‐assembly at interfaces, the membrane constitutes of only one layer resulting in a membrane thickness of 7 nm on average in the dry state. The membrane is stable up to at least 50 mbar transmembrane pressure, operating at a flux of about 21 000–25 000 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 and displayed a preferred size selectivity of particles below 20 nm. This approach diversifies membrane technology generating a platform for “smart” self‐assembled membranes.

High-performance asymmetric isoporous nanocomposite membranes with chemically-tailored amphiphilic nanochannels

“…Membrane-based separation offers a scalable, economically and environmentally friendly tool for numerous applications, e.g., biochemical and pharmaceutical processing, water purication, and wastewater treatment. [1][2][3][4][5] Although the interest in developing high-performance membranes has been growing from diverse inorganic, organic, and composite materials, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] a longstanding goal in membrane technology is still to pursue an ideal membrane with a high permeance, good selectivity and strong fouling resistance.…”

Surface-initiated controlled radical polymerizations from silica nanoparticles, gold nanocrystals, and bionanoparticles

“…380 Hybrid membranes could be constructed from Pickering emulsions at liquid/liquid as well as liquid/air interfaces by crosslinking the polymer chains. [381][382][383][384] Ferritin acts as a sacrificial template for uniform pores in the polymer membrane that can be created through denaturing the protein (Figure 22b). 384 The permeation through the resulting membrane was controlled by temperature switching below and above the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer.…”

“…[381][382][383][384] Ferritin acts as a sacrificial template for uniform pores in the polymer membrane that can be created through denaturing the protein (Figure 22b). 384 The permeation through the resulting membrane was controlled by temperature switching below and above the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer. A high mass transport was measured and a size-selectivity of particles below 20 nm was determined which is in very good agreement with the size of the used protein.…”

Ion-Responsive Channels of Zwitterion-Carbon Nanotube Membrane for Rapid Water Permeation and Ultrahigh Mono-/Multivalent Ion Selectivity

“…Up to now, lyotropic liquid crystals, 8 charge mosaic nanotubes, 9 and aquaporins 10 render the purification process with the ability to remove various contaminants from water in a single step with a high solute selectivity and large water permeability. 11,12 If an ion-responsive building block can be rationally integrated into a membrane, the rejection as well as the separation of ions are expected to be well tuned to efficiently harvest clean water. 13À15 It is also highly required to effectively separate ABSTRACT The rational combination of polymer matrix and nanostructured building blocks leads to the formation of composite membranes with unexpected capability of selectivity of monovalent electrolytes and water, which affords the feasibility to effeciently remove harmful ions and neutral molecules from the environment of concentrated salines.…”