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Ultrathin membranes prepared through interfacial polymer cross-linking for selective and fast ion transport

Nature Chemical Engineering volume 2, pages 369–378 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Ion-selective membranes are widely used in water treatment and batteries. However, it is challenging to obtain membranes that are both selective and permeable. Here, we report an interfacial polymer cross-linking strategy to produce ultrathin but robust polymeric membranes that are simultaneously permeable and selective. Cross-linking the polymer at the interface of two immiscible solvents followed by nonsolvent exchange produces a 3-µm-thick ultrathin membrane that contains a nanoscale separation layer with a quasi-ordered reticular cross-linking structure. Besides conferring strength, the cross-linked structures have angstrom-scale channels and ion-selective sites that can precisely separate ions of similar sizes and charges. We show that these membranes enable increased working current density and power density of various aqueous flow batteries. This strategy resolves a long-standing challenge in polymeric membranes.

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Fig. 1: Fabrication route and structure of the 3-μm-thick polymeric membranes.
Fig. 2: Structures and stability of cross-linked PT membranes.
Fig. 3: Transport properties and mechanism of the PT membranes.
Fig. 4: PT membranes improve the performance of various aqueous flow batteries.

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All the data supporting the results in this study are available within the Article and its Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 22525081 (X. Li), 21925804 (X. Li), 22379141 (W.L.) and 12275270 (H.Z.)), National Key R&D Program of China (grant no. 2022YFB2404901) (W.L.), CAS Strategic Leading Science & Technology Program (A) (grant no. XDA0400201) (X. Li) and Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (grant no. 2022184) (W.L.). We thank A. L. Chun of Science Storylab for valuable discussions and for critically reading and editing the manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Xiaonan Liu, Mengqi Shi, Chenyi Liao.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Energy Storage, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China

    Xiaonan Liu, Mengqi Shi, Congzhi Deng, Wenjing Lu & Xianfeng Li

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Xiaonan Liu, Mengqi Shi & Congzhi Deng

  3. State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China

    Chenyi Liao & Na Ta

  4. State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China

    Yiwen Chen & Hongjun Zhang

Authors
  1. Xiaonan Liu
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Contributions

X. Liu, M.S. and W.L. conceptualized and performed the experiments and analyzed the data. C.L. carried out the simulations. N.T. performed the experiments. Y.C. performed the experiments and analyzed the data. C.D. performed the experiments. H.Z. analyzed the data. W.L. and X. Li conceptualized the experiments, conceived and supervised the entire study. X. Liu, M.S. and W.L. were involved in the development of the paper.

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Correspondence to Hongjun Zhang, Wenjing Lu or Xianfeng Li.

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Nature Chemical Engineering thanks Michael Aziz and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Liu, X., Shi, M., Liao, C. et al. Ultrathin membranes prepared through interfacial polymer cross-linking for selective and fast ion transport. Nat Chem Eng 2, 369–378 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-025-00238-2

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