Ultraflat Graphene Oxide Membranes with Newton-Ring Prepared by Vortex Shear Field for Ion Sieving

Abstract

The wrinkles on graphene oxide (GO) membranes have unique properties; however, they interfere with the mass transfer of interlayer channels, posing a major challenge in the development of wrinkle-free GO membranes with smooth channels. In this study, the wrinkles on GO were flattened using vortex shear to tightly stack them into ultraflat GO membranes with Newton’s ring interference pattern, causing hydrolysis of the lipid bonds in the wrinkles and an increase in the number of oxygen-containing groups. With increasing flatness, the interlayer spacing of the GO membranes decreased, improving the stability of the interlayer structure, the flow resistance of water through the ultraflat interlayer decreased, and the water flux increased 3-fold. Importantly, the selectivity for K⁺/Mg²⁺ reached approximately 379.17 in a real salt lake. A novel concept is proposed for the development of new membrane preparation methods. Our findings provide insights into the use of vortex shearing to flatten GO.