Interfacial Super-Assembly of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon-Silica/AAO Hybrid Membrane with Enhanced Permselectivity for Temperature- and pH-Regulated Smart Ion Transport

Nanofluidic devices have been widely used for diode-like ion transport and salinity gradients energy conversion. Emerging reverse electrodialysis (RED) nanofluidic systems based on nanochannel membrane display great superiority in salinity gradient energy harvesting. However, the imbalance between permeability and selectivity limits their practical application. Here, we fabricate a new mesoporous carbon-silica/anodized aluminum (MCS/AAO) nanofluidic device with enhanced permselectivity for temperature- and pH-regulated energy generation. A maximum power density of 5.04 W/m2 is achieved, and a higher performance can be obtained by regulating temperature and pH. Theoretical calculations are further implemented to reveal the mechanism for ion rectification, ion selectivity and energy conversion. Results show that the MCS/AAO hybrid membrane has great superiority in diode-like ion transport, temperature- and pH-regulated salinity gradient energy conversion.