Mass Transport Phenomena in Low-Dimensional Space

Membrane technology poses the potential to bring process intensification to various industrial processes, such as energy-efficient separation of chemicals and energy storage. Membrane-based separation can enhance its efficacy if the membrane materials' selectivity, permeation, and durability can be rendered optimal. In this regard, understanding molecular transport phenomena under extreme confinement provided by low-dimensional materials can help understand and engineer the selective transport in the membrane interior, with which to innovate the pore design. This talk introduces the transport phenomena of molecules across 0D-, 1D-, and 2D-confined space that atomically thin orifices, nanotubes, and laminated 2D materials provide. As the confinement dimension increases, mass permeation tends to decrease from ultimate permeation to fast transport to molecular conduction, whereas chemical selectivity can be endowed to this space by engineering the confining material properties. From the perspective that one may tailor actual chemical selectivity through proper pore design and architectural modification, thus obtained knowledge and pore architectures could lay the cornerstone of advancing membrane transport properties toward process intensification.