Aquaporin-like water transport in nanoporous crystalline layered carbon nitride.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32978165.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abb6011 and PMC identifier 7518864.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Designing next-generation fuel cell and filtration devices requires the development of nanoporous materials that allow rapid and reversible uptake and directed transport of water molecules. Here, we combine neutron spectroscopy and first-principles calculations to demonstrate rapid transport of molecular H<sub>2</sub>O through nanometer-sized voids ordered within the layers of crystalline carbon nitride with a polytriazine imide structure. The transport mechanism involves a sequence of molecular orientation reversals directed by hydrogen-bonding interactions as the neutral molecules traverse the interlayer gap and pass through the intralayer voids that show similarities with the transport of water through transmembrane aquaporin channels in biological systems. The results suggest that nanoporous layered carbon nitrides can be useful for developing high-performance membranes.