Excellent Separation Research Articles

Boosting Adsorption and Selectivity of Acetylene by Nitro Functionalisation in Copper(II)-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Purification and storage of acetylene (C2H2) are important to many industrial processes. The exploitation of metal -organic framework (MOF) materials to address the balance between selectivity for C2H2 vs carbon dioxide (CO2 ) against maximising uptake of C2H2 has attracted much interest. Herein, we report that the synergy between unsaturated copper (II) sites and functional groups, fluoro (-F), methyl (-CH3), nitro (-NO2) in a series of isostructural MOF materials MFM-190(R) that show exceptional adsorption and selectivity of C2H2 . At 298 K, MFM-190(NO2) exhibits an C2H2 uptake of 216 cm3 g-1 (320 cm3 g-1 at 273 K ) at 1.0 bar and a high selectivity for C2H2/CO2 (up to ~150 for v/v = 2/1) relevant to that in the industrial cracking stream. Dynamic breakthrough studies validate and confirm the excellent separation of C2H2/CO2 by MFM-190(NO2) under ambient conditions. In situ neutron powder diffraction reveals the cooperative binding, packing and selectivity of C2H2 by unsaturated Cu(II) sites and free -NO2 groups.

Boosting Adsorption and Selectivity of Acetylene by Nitro Functionalisation in Copper(II)‐Based Metal‐Organic Frameworks

Purification and storage of acetylene (C2H2) are important to many industrial processes. The exploitation of metal –organic framework (MOF) materials to address the balance between selectivity for C2H2 vs carbon dioxide (CO2 ) against maximising uptake of C2H2 has attracted much interest. Herein, we report that the synergy between unsaturated copper (II) sites and functional groups, fluoro (‐F), methyl (‐CH3), nitro (‐NO2) in a series of isostructural MOF materials MFM‐190(R) that show exceptional adsorption and selectivity of C2H2 . At 298 K, MFM‐190(NO2) exhibits an C2H2 uptake of 216 cm3 g−1 (320 cm3 g−1 at 273 K ) at 1.0 bar and a high selectivity for C2H2/CO2 (up to ~150 for v/v = 2/1) relevant to that in the industrial cracking stream. Dynamic breakthrough studies validate and confirm the excellent separation of C2H2/CO2 by MFM‐190(NO2) under ambient conditions. In situ neutron powder diffraction reveals the cooperative binding, packing and selectivity of C2H2 by unsaturated Cu(II) sites and free ‐NO2 groups.

Evolutionary trends and photothermal catalytic reduction performance of carbon dioxide by MOF-derived MnOx

Metal oxide catalysts derived from MOFs can inherit the excellent performance from their parent MOFs, possess abundant surface defects and high stability, and have attracted widespread interest in multiphase catalysis. In this study, we used Mn-MOF as a precursor and systematically investigated the evolution of MnOx catalysts by setting different calcination temperatures and times. XRD, SEM, TEM, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N2 adsorption–desorption analysis, XPS, H2-TPR, CO2-TPD, electrochemical characterization, and other methods were used to investigate the structural characteristics, microstructure, surface properties, and photoelectric properties of the catalysts. The catalytic performance of the catalysts was also investigated through photocatalytic carbon dioxide hydrogenation reduction tests. Research has shown that calcination temperature and time have a significant impact on the phase structure and surface properties of MnOx, and the physicochemical properties of derived MnOx can be controlled by controlling calcination temperature and time. Among them, MnOx-500 has a wider light absorption range, better electron transfer performance, richer oxygen vacancies, and excellent separation performance of photo generated charge carriers, resulting in higher photocatalytic CO2 hydrogenation and reduction performance. Its CO yield and selectivity reached 7420 μmol/g/h and above 99 %, respectively. This study provides valuable references for the preparation, optimization, and utilization in CO2 photothermal catalytic conversion of MnOx catalysts derived from MOFs.

A Nanofiltration Membrane Preparation Process Based on Polyethyleneimine Diffusion Modulation and Surface Modification

ABSTRACTNanofiltration (NF) membranes play a huge role in industrial manufacturing with their unique selective permeability. Membrane material and structure are the main factors affecting the effectiveness of NF separation. Typically, NF membranes are produced by interfacial polymerization (IP). Therefore, control of the IP process is particularly important. This work provides a NF membrane preparation process by combining internal modulation of the separation layer and surface modification. The diffusion of polyethyleneimine (PEI) molecules is accelerated by the introduction of ethanol and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide into the PEI aqueous phase solution, resulting in the formation of a loose interior. In addition, the high selectivity is maintained by high molecular weight PEI modifying. After optimizing the process, the NF membrane permeate flux and selectivity can be increased compared to the blank group (MgCl2 desalination from 90% to 97%, permeate flux from 17 to 35 L m−2 h−1). The resulting PEI/TMC NF membranes also show excellent separation properties in mixed salt applications for magnesium‐lithium separation.

Amino and ionic liquid modified ZIF-71 embedded mixed matrix membrane for the enhancing the separation of refrigerant R454A

Due to their high global warming potential (GWP), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are included in various regulations as substances to be phased down. Gas separation membrane technology is expected to provide a better choice for refrigerant separation. In this study, a series of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)/ polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared for the separation of the refrigerant blend R454A (GWP = 145), which consists of a near-zeotropic difluoromethane (R32, GWP = 675) and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (R1234yf, GWP = 4). ZIF-71-NH2 was prepared for the first time by solvent-assisted ligand exchange (SALE), and then ZIF-71-NH2@ Ionic Liquid (IL) was prepared by embedding [C2mim][BF4] into the pores of ZIF-71-NH2 by capillary action method. The results showed that a hydrogen bonding network was established between the amino group and PDMS, which improved the interfacial compatibility, and reduced the pore size of ZIF-71, which contributed to an excellent gas separation performance of ZIF-71-NH2/PDMS MMMs. Restricting [C2mim][BF4] to the ZIF-71-NH2 pore can further reduce its pore size, and enhance R32/R1234yf separation performance due to the high selective solubility for R32 and R1234yf. The selectivity of 10wt.% ZIF-71-NH2/PDMS MMM is 25.6% over that of 10wt.% ZIF-71/PDMS MMM. The selectivity of ZIF-71-NH2@IL/PDMS MMM is 38.3% higher than that of ZIF-71-NH2/PDMS MMM. The ZIF-71-NH2/PDMS and ZIF-71-NH2@IL/PDMS MMMs exhibited the most excellent R32/R1234yf separation performance compared with the data currently published in the literature. Moreover, both designed MMMs demonstrated excellent resistance to ageing.

Targeting active sites nickel-porphyrin over BiOBr nanosheets with excellent charge separation for accelerated photoreduction reactions

The energy crisis and environmental pollution severely constrained the sustainable development of society. Herein, nickel-porphyrin active sites have been integrated over BiOBr for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction and Cr(VI) removal. The optimized NiTMCPP/BiOBr-2 photocatalyst exhibits CO generation rate of 14.14 μmol g−1 under irradiation for 5h, which is around 2 times compared with BiOBr. Meanwhile, Cr(VI) removal efficiency over NiTMCPP/BiOBr-2 is 97.72% under visible light irradiation for 40min, which shows enhanced photoreduction ability compared with BiOBr (77.31%). Numerous experimental results indicate that the improved photocatalytic activity for NiTMCPP/BiOBr-2 is mainly owing to the enhanced transport efficiency of photoinduced carriers after the loading of Ni-porphyrin. Especially, the central Ni2+ active site of porphyrin can accept excitation electrons, thus enhancing photoreduction performance. Furthermore, the mechanisms for photocatalytic CO2 and Cr(Ⅵ) reduction were further discussed via in-situ FT-IR and capture experiments. This work gives a promising way to design hybrid photocatalysts for energy conversion and environmental treatment.

Constructing positively charged hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes with high performance for the treatment of wastewater containing heavy metal ions

The presence of heavy metal ions in wastewater has been identified as a significant environmental and human health concern. Positively charged hollow fiber (HF) Nanofiltration (NF) membranes show great promise and excellent potential for the removal of heavy metal ions due to Donnan exclusion effect. Nevertheless, the current limitations of positively charged HF NF membranes, including complex preparation process, low flux and poor selectivity, continue to impede their broader implementation. In this work, a high flux HF NF membrane with positively charged surface was fabricated via doping piperazine in the aqueous-phase solution of polyethyleneimine to modulate the interfacial polymerization and to adjust the structure of the subsequent polyamide skin layer. Subsequently, the surface of this nascent skin layer was modified with diethylenetriamine/ethanol solution to increase its positive charge density, and thus to improve the rejection of multivalent cations. The optimal HF NF membrane shows a pure water permeability of 160 LMH/MPa and a MgCl2 rejection of higher than 97 %. In addition, it shows a rejection of higher than 95 % for heavy metal salts such as CoCl2, MnCl2, NiCl2, CuCl2 and Cr2(SO4)3, and a rejection of more than 98 % for antibiotics such as tetracycline hydrochloride, oxytetracycline and levofloxacin. It also possesses good resistance to acid and contamination. In addition, the optimal HF NF membrane has been successfully scaled up to a module of 20 filaments and still shows excellent separation performance, suggesting its vast potential for industrial application.

Fabrication of an antibacterial polybenzimidazole/Ag@UiO-66-NH2 mixed matrix membrane for dye-salt separation: Solvent evaporation effects

In textile water treatment, nanofiltration membranes are susceptible to biofilm layer formation on their surface due to microbial colonization, which can significantly reduce the separation efficiency of the membrane. Therefore, maintaining long-term antimicrobial efficacy of the membrane is of paramount importance. In this study, UiO-66-NH2 nanoparticles were fabricated via the solvothermal method, then Ag-loaded UiO-66-NH2 (Ag@UiO-66-NH2) nanoparticles were produced by stirring and reduction with silver nitrate solution, and the nanoparticles were integrated into the polybenzimidazole (PBI) matrix through a blending process to fabricate mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) with antimicrobial properties. During the preparation of mixed matrix membranes, the phenomenon of nanoparticle agglomeration on the membrane surface is frequently encountered. In order to solve this problem, we used solvent evaporation and cross-linking post-treatment methods to further improve the compatibility between the membrane and the particles, the membranes showed a good water flux (53.7 L·m−2·h−1), excellent separation capabilities for dyes and salts, NaCl rejection (9.50 %), Na2SO4 rejection (12.70 %), MgCl2 rejection (7.44 %), MgSO4 rejection (9.34 %), Crystal violet, Acid fuchsin, Congo red, Coomassie brilliant blue and Acid red 94 dyes rejection (all over 99 %). And the antibacterial rate is 98.7 % against E. coli and 99.1 % against S. aureus and it has the function of long-term stable Ag+ release.

Fluoro-functionalized metal organic frameworks with two-fold interpenetration for boosting xenon/krypton separation

Efficient separation of xenon (Xe) and krypton (Kr) mixture is an industrially crucial but challenging process. Fine-tuning the local polarity and pore shape of MOFs is an effective strategy for enhancing the disparity in interaction forces with Xe and Kr. Here, the novel heterometallic trimeric [Fe2Mn(μ3-O)] cluster-based fluorine-functionalized metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) FeMn-BTBP-F and its parent FeMn-BTBP have been was reported for Xe/Kr separation. Notably, FeMn-BTBP-F exhibits a unique two-fold interpenetrated three-dimensional (3D) framework with highly polar fluorine groups. The incorporation of fluorine groups in FeMn-BTBP-F effectively fine-tunes the pore size and introduces additional adsorption sites, thereby enhancing interactions between Xe and the pore surface. Consequently, both the Xe uptake and Xe/Kr separation selectivity are significantly enhanced for FeMn-BTBP-F compared to that of FeMn-BTBP. Dynamic breakthrough measurements validate the excellent separation of Xe/Kr by FeMn-BTBP-F. Moreover, theoretical calculations elucidate the separation mechanism for the Xe/Kr mixture, revealing that the a good Xe/Kr uptake ratio and efficient Xe/Kr adsorption selectivity of FeMn-BTBP-F can be attributed to the pore confinement effect and highly polarized pore environment. Hence, this work not only provides a candidate for the separation of Xe/Kr but also elucidates the crucial role of modulating pore polarity in enhancing the performance of Xe/Kr separation.

Scale-up synthesis of a low-cost cobalt formate framework for efficient C3H6/C2H4 separation and shaping performance study

The separation of propylene (C3H6) from ethylene (C2H4) is one of the most vital processes to obtain high-purity C2H4 in the petrochemical industry, which is commonly limited by the insufficient C3H6 uptake or poor C3H6/C2H4 selectivity due to the weak C3H6 binding affinity. Herein, a low-cost cobalt formate framework (termed as CoFA) was synthesized up to 40 g for efficient C3H6/C2H4 separation. CoFA with multiple accessible Oδ- sites and contracted zigzag pore channels provides a unique single-molecule C3H6 nanotrap with benchmark high C3H6 adsorption affinity. The C3H6 uptake at 0.01 bar reaches as high as 59.4 cm3 cm−3, ranking second among the materials in the context of C3H6/C2H4 separation. Breakthrough experiments confirm its excellent separation capacity for equimolar C3H6/C2H4 mixtures. The separation performance is retained under 5 cycles and under humid conditions. Theoretical calculations reveal that the perfectly size-matched pore cavities combined with multiple hydrogen bonding sites enable this single-molecule C3H6 nanotrap to maximize the C3H6 binding affinity. The shaping properties of CoFA were investigated by using four different binders with PES as the best one to shape CoFA with retained capacity and selectivity.

Remediation of crude oil contaminated oily wastewater using nanostructured ZnO-decorated ceramic membrane: Membrane fouling and their mitigation using photo-catalytic self-cleaning process

In membrane-based oil water separation, the fouling of oil on the membrane pores due to the adsorption of oily feed components (crude oil) is a major disadvantage. In order to address the problem of membrane fouling, in this work, the filtration membrane itself was coated with a photoactive semiconducting material to self-clean the fouled membrane by photo-catalytic degradation. In addition to the self-cleaning, the other major functionality of the coating is to render a favorable surface wettability, conducive for water passing oil water separation. The basic membrane is porous alumina (Al2O3) substrate, on which a layer of crystalline Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin film was coated by single step RF magnetron sputtering. The fabricated membrane is super-hydrophilic in the air and super-oleophobic underwater, and this contrasting wettability is crucial for the water passing oil water separation. The advantage of preferentially water passing membrane is that the oil clogging on the membrane surface is less than that of the oil passing membrane. However, after prolonged use with crude oil-contaminated feed, the accumulation of organic pollutants on the membrane surface hinders the smooth permeation of water through the membrane. The oil water filtration system involves cross flow through the ZnO-deposited Al2O3 membrane with the application of trans-membrane pressure. The membrane achieved an excellent separation efficiency (99.66 %) of oil and water from the oil emulsified water, and high permeates flux (908.4 L/m2.h.bar) for 200 ppm crude oil contaminated oily feed (surfactant stabilized crude oil-in-water emulsion). After a prolonged use of 540 min, the permeate flux declined due to the accumulation of organic pollutants present in the oily water. The original flux was restored by initiating photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants by the exposure of UV radiation on the used membrane surface. The ZnO-deposited Al2O3 membrane shows an excellent light induced photocatalytic self-cleaning and antifouling with flux recovery ratio of around 88 %. In addition to this application, this manuscript also presents the morphological, elemental, structural, and topological characterizations of coated membrane.

H2O2-assisted Bi3NbO7 loaded on porous carbon for enhancing the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Bi3NbO7 loaded on porous carbon (BNO/PC) composite materials has been prepared by the in-suit sol-gel method. The photocatalytic efficacy of the BNO/PC composite has been evaluated by degrading tetracycline (TC) in an environment of visible light and hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the relevant influencing factors of TC degradation efficiency have been explored through a series of condition optimization experiments. UV–vis DRS and PL tests showed that the loading on porous carbon significantly broadens the visible light response range of the catalyst and improves the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. Compared with the bare BNO, the specific surface area and average pore diameter of the BNO/PC composite material increased greatly. The optimal sample of 35 % BNO/PC exhibited outstanding visible light response ability and excellent charge separation efficiency. The “cata + H2O2+vis” system had the highest photocatalytic activity, with TC degradation reaching 86.9 % after 60 min of visible light illumination. The addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) promoted the formation of more powerful active substances. Following this, a mechanism for photocatalytic degradation has been proposed.

Flexible ZSM‐5 Zeolite Membrane for High‐Performance Helium Separation

Flexible zeolite membranes are promising for scalable and adaptable separation of critical gases such as helium; however, the synthesis of such membranes remains a significant challenge. In this study, we report the successful fabrication of crack‐free ZSM‐5 zeolite membranes on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) supports using a seeded growth method. PTFE‐supported membranes exhibit unprecedented helium permeance of over 6.7×10‐7 mol m‐2 s‐1 Pa‐1 and high He/N2 and He/CH4 separation factors of 17 and 83 respectively, surpassing current state‐of‐the‐art membranes. These flexible membranes maintain excellent separation performance even after bending and stretching. Furthermore, large‐scale membranes demonstrate stable helium separation from multicomponent gas mixtures, showcasing their significant potential for practical helium extraction from natural gas.

Flexible ZSM-5 Zeolite Membrane for High-Performance Helium Separation.

Flexible zeolite membranes are promising for scalable and adaptable separation of critical gases such as helium; however, the synthesis of such membranes remains a significant challenge. In this study, we report the successful fabrication of crack-free ZSM-5 zeolite membranes on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) supports using a seeded growth method. PTFE-supported membranes exhibit unprecedented helium permeance of over 6.7×10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 and high He/N2 and He/CH4 separation factors of 17 and 83 respectively, surpassing current state-of-the-art membranes. These flexible membranes maintain excellent separation performance even after bending and stretching. Furthermore, large-scale membranes demonstrate stable helium separation from multicomponent gas mixtures, showcasing their significant potential for practical helium extraction from natural gas.

The Development of a High-Throughput Homonuclear Decoupling HSQC NMR Platform for the Determination of 10 Sex Hormones in Animal-Source Food and Medicines

Owing to their endocrine disruption effect, the hormone levels in animal-source food and medicines need to be efficiently and accurately quantified by a reliable analytical method. In the current study, by using a homonuclear decoupling and heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) experiment, coupled with non-uniform sampling (NUS) that was used to shorten the experimental time, we developed a method to quantify 10 hormone residues in animal-source products. This method was validated following the guidelines of USP–NF 2022. The application of the homonuclear decoupling (HD) technique to conventional HSQC yielded 2D spectra that exhibited excellent signal separation and specificity. For all the tested hormones, good linearity with correlation coefficients of more than 0.99 was observed in the linear range of 0.2–6 mg/0.6 mL. Satisfactory precision and recoveries of spiked animal samples were also obtained. Finally, the method was applied in residue determination of 10 hormones in real animal-source samples at the ug/g level.

Development of a prognostic signature for overall survival using peripheral blood biomarkers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

BackgroundWe previously reported in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), pretreatment higher lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and absolute (abx) neutrophils as well as lower percent (%) lymphocytes correlated with worse overall survival (OS). In this study we aimed to develop a prognostic signature for HNSCC treated with ICIs using these peripheral blood biomarkers (PBBMs).MethodsAdults with R/M HNSCC treated with ICIs at our institution from 08/2012 to 03/2021 with pretreatment PBBMs were included. Follow-up continued until 02/15/2022. The cohort (n = 151) was randomly split into training (n = 100) and testing (n = 51) datasets. A prognostic score incorporating LDH, % lymphocytes, and abx neutrophils was developed from the training dataset using Cox proportional hazards regression. In the training dataset, a grid search identified the optimal cutpoints classifying patients into high, medium, and low-risk groups (trichotomized signature) as well as high vs. low-risk groups (dichotomized signature). The prognostic score, dichotomized and trichotomized signatures were then validated in the testing dataset.ResultsTraining and testing datasets showed no clinically meaningful differences in clinicodemographic characteristics or PBBMs. An OS prognostic model was developed from the training dataset: Risk score = 1.24*log10(LDH) − 1.95*log10(% lymphocytes) + 0.47*log10(abx neutrophils). Optimal risk score cutpoints for the dichotomized and trichotomized signatures were defined in the training dataset, and Kaplan-Meier curves for both dichotomized and trichotomized signatures showed good separation between risk groups. Risk scores were calculated in the testing dataset, where the trichotomized signature demonstrated overlap between low and medium-risk groups but good separation from the high-risk group while the dichotomized signature showed clear separation between low and high-risk groups. Higher risk score correlated with worse OS (HR 2.08, [95%CI 1.17–3.68], p = 0.012). Progression-free survival Kaplan-Meier curves likewise showed excellent separation between dichotomized risk groups in the training and testing datasets.ConclusionsWe developed a prognostic signature for OS based on 3 previously identified PBBMs for HNSCC treated with ICIs and identified a high-risk group of patients least likely to have survival benefit from ICIs. This signature may improve ICI patient selection and warrants validation in an independent cohort as well as correlation with CPS.

Layered Bio-Inorganic MXene Membranes: A Green Approach for Uranium Extraction from Seawater Using Genetically Modified E. coli.

With the growing demand for clean energy, efficient uranium extraction technologies are needed, especially from seawater, where uranium reserves are huge. Here, we developed a composite membrane by inserting Escherichia coli engineered with super uranyl-binding protein (SUP) within a two-dimensional (2D) MXene (Ti3C2Tx) layer. SUP endowed the bioinorganic hybrid membrane with ultrahigh selectivity for uranyl ions, while the engineered E. coli improved the mechanical strength and economy of the membranes. Experimental results showed that the membranes achieved precise recognition of uranyl ions and excellent ion screening performance (SFU/V ≈ 43, SFNa/U ≈ 158). Excellent separation performance and cyclic stability tests demonstrated the industrial application potential of the membrane. This method offers a green and sustainable solution, combining biological engineering and nanomaterial innovation, providing an environmentally friendly and efficient approach for uranium extraction from seawater, marking a significant advancement in the field of clean energy resource development.

Microfluidic Precision Manufacture of High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Microspheres

AbstractA key bottleneck in developing chromatographic material is the chemically entangled control of morphology, pore structure, and material chemistry, which holds back precision material manufacture in order to pursue advanced separation performance. In this work, a precision manufacture strategy based on droplet microfluidics was developed, for production of highly efficient chromatographic microspheres with independent control over particle morphology, pore structure and material chemistry. The droplet‐synthesized microspheres display extremely narrow particle size distribution (CV<3 %), enabling a 100 % production yield due to complete elimination of sieving steps. More importantly, the size of the droplet‐synthesized microspheres is freely adjustable without the need for re‐optimizing chemical recipes or reaction conditions. The resulting materials exhibit excellent separation efficiencies, achieving a reduced plate height of hmin=1.67. This precision manufacture strategy also allows for flexible pore design and continuous pore size adjustment across three orders of magnitudes, providing a novel vehicle for resolution fine‐tuning targeting protein separation. Besides traditional silica, organic–inorganic hybrid silica, zirconia, and titania microspheres can also be precisely synthesized on the same platform, supporting various separation applications and operating conditions. Powered by precision manufacture, super‐throughput production, and versatile chemistry, the high‐performance droplet‐synthesized separation material will pave the way towards green and precision chromatographic industry.

Microfluidic Precision Manufacture of High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Microspheres.

A key bottleneck in developing chromatographic material is the chemically entangled control of morphology, pore structure, and material chemistry, which holds back precision material manufacture in order to pursue advanced separation performance. In this work, a precision manufacture strategy based on droplet microfluidics was developed, for production of highly efficient chromatographic microspheres with independent control over particle morphology, pore structure and material chemistry. The droplet-synthesized microspheres display extremely narrow particle size distribution (CV<3 %), enabling a 100 % production yield due to complete elimination of sieving steps. More importantly, the size of the droplet-synthesized microspheres is freely adjustable without the need for re-optimizing chemical recipes or reaction conditions. The resulting materials exhibit excellent separation efficiencies, achieving a reduced plate height of hmin=1.67. This precision manufacture strategy also allows for flexible pore design and continuous pore size adjustment across three orders of magnitudes, providing a novel vehicle for resolution fine-tuning targeting protein separation. Besides traditional silica, organic-inorganic hybrid silica, zirconia, and titania microspheres can also be precisely synthesized on the same platform, supporting various separation applications and operating conditions. Powered by precision manufacture, super-throughput production, and versatile chemistry, the high-performance droplet-synthesized separation material will pave the way towards green and precision chromatographic industry.

Robust and efficient oil-water separation using candle soot deposited stainless steel mesh

In recent years, the rising concerns regarding oil pollution and the emissions of organic pollutants from industrial activities have posed significant environmental and public health challenges. The treatment of oily wastewater and organic pollutants has emerged as pressing issue, necessitating the development of efficient solutions. Oil-water separation stands out as a promising approach to address these challenges. However, the effictiveness and robustness of the separating membranes have been identified as key limitations hindering the advancement of oil–water separation technologiess. This paper introduces a novel superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic membrane tailored specifically for oil–water separation with enhanced water flux. This film is prepared by depositing candle soot on a stainless steel mesh and then polymerizing phytic acid (CSM-PA). The contact angle of CSM-PA membranes underwater for a wide range of oils is above 140°, reaching a maximum of 152.73°. The CSM-PA membrane demonstrates excellent separation performance for various oils, achieving separation efficiencies flux surpassing 99.990 %, achieving separation efficiencies flux surpassing 18950.360 L·m−2·h−1. Notably, the membrane exhibits contact angles under water exceeding 142° for all oils tested. After conducting immersion, sand impact, and water impact tests, the underwater contact angle for both light and heavy oils was found to exceed 139°. The surface roughness of the CSM-PA film on the initial stainless steel mesh improved significantly, increasing from 106 nm to 452 nm. Impressively, even after 70 cycles, the CSM-PA membrane maintains an oil (n-hexane) water separation efficiency exceeding 99.997 % and a remarkable flux rate of 21055.956 L·m−2·h−1, the maximum separation flux is even 29154.400 L·m−2·h−1. Furthermore, the CSM-PA membrane shows significant stability and resistance to mechanical abrasion, ensuring long-term and reliable operational performance. The findings of this study hold significant implications for the advancement of oil–water separation technologies, offering a promising avenue for addressing oil pollution and organic pollutant emissions in a sustainable and effective manner.