Macrocycle-assembled membranes for high-salinity organic wastewater treatment.

IF 18.1 1区综合性期刊 Q1 MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

Nature Communications Pub Date : 2026-01-17 DOI:10.1038/s41467-026-68430-3

Yizhuo Li,Yanghua Duan,Jingsi Yuan,Lei Ge,Xiang Zhang,Jingwei Hou,Yatao Zhang,Bart Van der Bruggen,Junyong Zhu,Menachem Elimelech

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Abstract

Membrane processes offer a promising pathway for selectively separating organics and salts to enable water reuse and resource recovery. While polymeric membranes incorporating macrocyclic molecules that feature amphiphilic nature and tunable cavities are well suited for this purpose, traditional macrocycles with limited reactive sites and uncontrolled diffusion are challenging to be assembled into highly interconnected membranes. Here, we introduce tetra-aldehyde appended calixarene (TACA), a macrocyclic monomer featuring three-dimensional cavity and moderate reactivity, for creating loose-structured nanofilms via unidirectional diffusion assisted interfacial polymerization (UDIP). Precise positioning of the lipophilic TACA at the organic phase boundary allows it to polymerize with aqueous-phase diamines on the hydrogel surface, facilitating an undisturbed environment for controlled polymerization. The resultant thin macrocycle-assembled membranes featuring intrinsic water-facilitated through-cavity exhibited high water permeability of 63.8 L m-2 h-1 bar-1, and exceptional dye/salt selectivity and structural robustness, as evidenced by efficient diafiltration of binary dye/salt mixtures and superior operational stability. This work highlights the potential of macrocycle-assembled membranes for high-salinity organic wastewater treatment.

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用于高盐度有机废水处理的大循环组装膜。

膜工艺为有机盐的选择性分离提供了一条很有前途的途径，可以实现水的再利用和资源回收。虽然含有两亲性和可调腔的大环分子的聚合物膜非常适合这一目的，但传统的大环具有有限的反应位点和不受控制的扩散，很难组装成高度互联的膜。在这里，我们介绍了四醛附加杯芳烃（TACA），一种具有三维空腔和中等反应活性的大环单体，用于通过单向扩散辅助界面聚合（UDIP）制备松散结构的纳米膜。亲脂性TACA在有机相边界的精确定位使其能够与水凝胶表面的水相二胺聚合，为控制聚合提供了一个不受干扰的环境。所制得的薄大环组装膜具有固有的水促进通腔，具有63.8 L m-2 h-1 bar-1的高透水性，具有出色的染料/盐选择性和结构稳健性，这证明了对二元染料/盐混合物的有效滤过和优越的操作稳定性。这项工作突出了大循环组装膜处理高盐度有机废水的潜力。

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来源期刊

Nature Communications Biological Science Disciplines-

CiteScore

24.90

自引率

2.40%

发文量

6928

审稿时长

3.7 months

期刊介绍： Nature Communications, an open-access journal, publishes high-quality research spanning all areas of the natural sciences. Papers featured in the journal showcase significant advances relevant to specialists in each respective field. With a 2-year impact factor of 16.6 (2022) and a median time of 8 days from submission to the first editorial decision, Nature Communications is committed to rapid dissemination of research findings. As a multidisciplinary journal, it welcomes contributions from biological, health, physical, chemical, Earth, social, mathematical, applied, and engineering sciences, aiming to highlight important breakthroughs within each domain.