Advanced Materials Interfaces have published an article by Qi et Al, which investigates opportunities for the ‘use of membranes for extracting, reclaiming, and purifying alkali metals from aqueous feedstocks’. Their findings suggest ‘interesting implications for ion batteries and other energy conversion systems’.
For the experimental section, Silson’s Si3N4/Si chips with 5 µm-sized holes were used to prepare free-standing CNMs (carbon nanomembranes) for mass loss and ion transport measurements.
The conclusion finishes: “In this respect, the mechanical strength and the high water permeance of pyrene-derived CNMs promise advances in their scalability and can potentially be beneficial for use in such settings as ion-exchange, electrodialysis, and energy harvesting membranes” – follow this link to read more!