In this manuscript, we report the facile fabrication of large-area model membranes with highly uniform and high aspect ratio pores with diameters <20 nm. These membranes are useful for fundamental investigations of separation by size exclusion in the ultrafiltration regime, where species to be separated from solution have dimensions of 1–100 nm. Such investigations require membranes with narrow pores and high aspect ratios such that the Hagen–Poiseuille equation is followed, enabling well-known models such as the hindered transport model to be evaluated and other affecting factors to be ignored. We demonstrate that the sub-20 nm pores in the membrane are of sufficiently high aspect ratio such that water flux through the membrane is consistent with the Hagen–Poiseuille equation. The fabrication relies on self-assembling block copolymers to form uniform, densely packed patterns with sub-20 nm resolution, sequential infiltration synthesis to convert the block copolymer in situ into a mask with adequate contrast to etch pores with an aspect ratio >5, and low-resolution photolithography to transfer the pattern over a large area into a silicon nitride membrane. Model membranes with narrow pore-size distribution fabricated in this way provide the means to investigate parameters that impact size-selective ultrafiltration separations such as the relationships between solute or particle size and pore size, their distributions, and rejection profiles, and, therefore, test the validity or limits of separation models.
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December 2024
Research Article|
October 30 2024
Fabrication of model ultrafiltration membranes with uniform, high aspect ratio pores
Wen Chen
;
Wen Chen
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems (AMEWS) EFRC, Argonne National Laboratory
, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 604392
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60637
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Soonmin Yim
;
Soonmin Yim
(Data curation, Investigation)
1
Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems (AMEWS) EFRC, Argonne National Laboratory
, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 604392
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60637
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Nestor J. Zaluzec
;
Nestor J. Zaluzec
(Data curation, Methodology)
2
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60637
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Gordon S. W. Craig
;
Gordon S. W. Craig
(Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
2
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60637
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Seth B. Darling
;
Seth B. Darling
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration)
1
Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems (AMEWS) EFRC, Argonne National Laboratory
, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 604392
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 606373
Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory
, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 60439
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Paul F. Nealey
Paul F. Nealey
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems (AMEWS) EFRC, Argonne National Laboratory
, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 604392
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 606374
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois 60439a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: nealey@uchicago.edu
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: nealey@uchicago.edu
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 42, 062803 (2024)
Article history
Received:
September 06 2024
Accepted:
October 14 2024
Citation
Wen Chen, Soonmin Yim, Nestor J. Zaluzec, Gordon S. W. Craig, Seth B. Darling, Paul F. Nealey; Fabrication of model ultrafiltration membranes with uniform, high aspect ratio pores. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 1 December 2024; 42 (6): 062803. https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0004050
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