Mobile Liquid Gating Membrane System for Smart Piston and Valve

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Article Cite This: Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984

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Mobile Liquid Gating Membrane System for Smart Piston and Valve Applications Wei Liu,†,‡ Miao Wang,†,‡ Zhizhi Sheng,†,§,⊥ Yunmao Zhang,§ Shuli Wang,§,⊥ Long Qiao,§ Yaqi Hou,§ Mengchuang Zhang,‡ Xinyu Chen,§ and Xu Hou*,‡,§,⊥ Research Institute for Soft Matter and Biomimetics, College of Physical Science and Technology, §State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and ⊥Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, P. R. China

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ABSTRACT: Rapid progress toward smart membranes has been made in the past few decades, of which the liquid gating membranes have attracted increasing attention because of their smart permeability. However, the current liquid gating membranes are mainly focused on the control of transmembrane performance, whereas the motion behaviors of such membranes that respond to ambient gas pressure are also very important for many applications in industry. Here, we developed a mobile liquid gating membrane system driven by dynamic changes in ambient gas pressure that can move as a piston depending on gas pressure. We further investigated the influences of membrane pore sizes and gating liquid types on the motion behavior of mobile liquid gating membranes. By incorporating with pneumatic elastomers, the liquid gating membrane system shows bistable gas transport properties that can serve as a smart valve. We believe the mobile liquid gating membrane system can provide a new platform for integrating simple control and logic function of soft actuators and robots.

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INTRODUCTION Porous membranes have been extensively developed for applications in membrane separation,1 analytics,2 and medical therapies.3 Recently, there has been great interest in making these membranes “smart” by enabling a series of bioinspired gating membranes with selective permeation. These membranes can switch to an open or closed state to allow some components to pass through while preventing others.4−8 By utilizing a physicochemical modification of functional molecules at the inner wall of pores of the membranes, the external stimuliresponsive behavior of membranes can be achieved, such as pH, temperature, light, moisture, stress, electric field, and magnetic field.9,10 Besides, inspired by nature,11,12 we have previously introduced liquid gating membranes that use a capillary-stabilized liquid as a reconfigurable gate that fills in the pores of the membrane in the closed state and forms a continuous liquid layer along the adjacent surface in the open state.13 By precisely tailoring interfacial wetting property, as well as the pore geometries of the membrane, the smart liquid gating membranes achieved tunable multiphase selectivity,14,15 sustainable antifouling behavior,16,17 energy savings,13 and other advanced features for many applications, such as multiphase separation,13,18−23 particle separation,24 functional surface,25−30 liquid manipulation,31 bionic skin,32 fluidic control,33 chemical detection,34 etc. However, the existing smart liquid gating membranes are fixed in the system as a barrier to achieve the separation of specific substances or special functions, whereas the motion behavior of such a membrane that responds to ambient gas pressure remains elusive. Aiming at the dynamic transport and separation of gas/liquid, © 2019 American Chemical Society

we have developed a liquid gating elastomeric porous system under a steady-state applied pressure.22 Recently, we reported another dynamic curvature nanochannel-based membrane to dynamically regulate the ionic transport.35 But these dynamic transport and control systems are not mobile, either horizontally stretching or axially compressing. It is noteworthy that the smart liquid gating membranes are responsive to the applied pressure, allowing the gas to permeate when the applied pressure is beyond its critical pressure. The critical pressure is related to the pore diameter of the membrane and the surface tension of gating liquid. If the liquid gating membrane is free to move, it can be pushed forward by the applied pressure as a piston and can also be programmed to morph the elastomeric materials into different shapes. The similar gas-driven principle has been preliminarily applied in the bioinspired pneumatic shapemorphing elastomer,36 soft actuators,37 smart soft valve,38 and pneumatic smart surfaces.39 Here we report a mobile liquid gating membrane system (MLGMS) adapting to dynamic changes of ambient gas pressure. For an MLGMS confined in a tubular chamber, when the applied pressure is lower than the transmembrane threshold pressure, the liquid gating membrane could keep moving in the chamber and be stopped until the applied pressure is higher than its critical pressure, working as a piston. We further studied the influences of Received: Revised: Accepted: Published: 11976

March 27, 2019 May 26, 2019 June 7, 2019 June 7, 2019 DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01696 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984

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Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the mechanism of MLGMS. (a) Regulation of MLGMS by utilizing different gating liquids. The applied pressure (P) is higher than the critical pressure of MLGMS I but lower than that of MLGMS II (PCritical I< P < PCritical II). (b) Regulation of MLGMS by tuning the pore size of the membrane. The applied pressure (P′) is higher than the critical pressure of MLGMS I but lower than that of MLGMS II (P′Critical I< P′< P′Critical II). The green dashed line represents the initial position of MLGMS.

used in the transmembrane pressure measurements. A peristaltic pump (Baoding Shenchen Pump Co., Ltd.) with a flow rate of 100 mL min−1 was used in the pneumatic elastomers experiment. 2.3. Preparation of MLGMS-Incorporated Pneumatic Elastomers. Arod-shaped pneumatic elastomer was passed through the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) ring (the outer diameter was 8 mm, the inner diameter was 6 mm). Then the partial flip of the pneumatic elastomer was crossed and wrapped the ring. The overlapping part was coated with a thin layer of glue. The PTFE film with a diameter of 8 mm was aligned with the edge of the ring when the glue is in a semisolidified state. After the glue was completely solidified, a thin layer of glue was applied on the outer edge of the ring to make sure that the valves were well-sealed. 2.4. Characterizations. Surface tension of the liquids were performed by the contour analysis instrument (OCA 100, Germany). According to the pendant drop method (drop hanging on a cannula), the surface tension can be calculated from the shape and the size of the pendant drop. The surface tension value was obtained by more than five independent measurements at the temperature of 25 °C. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM, Sigma 300, Karl Zeiss, Germany) was used to observe the microstructures of the membranes. The membrane samples were first coated with platinum for 50 s at 30 mA and then observed at an accelerating voltage of 10 kV.

different gating liquid types and membrane pore sizes on the motion behaviors of MLGMS. Through the regulation of gating liquids and membrane pore sizes, the liquid membrane system shows bistable gas transport properties, serving as a smart valve in pneumatic elastomers. It is assumed that MLGMS combined with a wide selection of the materials and geometries, and the stability, will have prospects in the potential applications of smart pistons and valves, offering a way of integrating simple control and logic functions directly into soft actuators and robots.

2. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS 2.1. Materials. The porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes with pore sizes of 0.65, 0.8, 1, and 2 μm, were purchased from Haining Zhongli Filtering Equipment Factory. Silicone oil was purchased from Shanghai McLean Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd. The liquid gating membranes were prepared by dropping ∼10 mL cm−2 gating liquid on the surface of porous membranes, and uniform coverage was achieved after a while. Air was used as the transport gas. Milli-Q DI water with a resistivity of 18.2 MΩ cm was used in all experiments. Acrylic plastic pipe, pneumatic elastomer (silicone rubber), sponge, and glue are commoditized. Copper-based lubricating oil was obtained from Chongqing tail technology Co., Ltd. 2.2. Transmembrane Pressure Measurements. The transmembrane properties of the liquid-infused PTFE membranes with gating liquids were determined by measuring the transmembrane pressure during the flow of air. Transmembrane pressure was measured by wet/wet current output differential pressure transmitters (PX154-025DI, PX273-020DI) from OMEGA Engineering Inc. (Stamford). A porous membrane in a circular shape (diameter of 25 mm) was sealed in square-shaped acrylic plastic plates (30 mm × 30 mm). A Harvard Apparatus PHD ULTRA Syringe Pump with a flow rate of 1 mL min−1 was

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. Mechanism of MLGMS. The MLGMS was established by infusing a functional gating liquid into a porous membrane, and then confined in a cylindrical channel (Figure 1). The gating liquid is stabilized in the porous membrane through the capillary mechanism. Each transport substance has a specific critical pressure to overcome the capillary pressure at the liquid−gas 11977

DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01696 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984

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Figure 2. Movement of an MLGMS (liquid-infused sponge) as a piston in the one-dimensional tube. (a) SEM image of the porous sponge, scale bar 100 μm. The inset image shows the sponge in a higher magnification with a scale bar of 20 μm. (b) Photos of the MLGMS moving in a plexiglass tube, the blue dashed line represents the initial position of the sponge, and the red dashed line represents the final position of the sponge. PMin and PMax represent the lowest and the highest of the applied pressure, respectively. (c) Real-time applied pressure of liquid-infused sponge moving in the tube.

the sponge with the pore size of 30 ± 10 μm is shown in Figure 2a. The sponge image in high magnification is inserted in Figure 2a. With the increase of the applied pressure from PMin to PMax, the motion of the liquid-infused sponge could be predetermined by controlling the applied pressure. As shown in Figure 2b, when the applied pressure is lower than the critical pressure of the liquid-infused sponge (P < PC), the sponge can move in the tube (Figure 2bI, II), while when the applied pressure is above the critical pressure of the system (P > PC), gas will flow through the system and the sponge will stop (Figure 2b III). The applied pressure changes during the movement process of Figure 2b is shown in Figure 2c. Thus, the movement of the sponge could be controlled by the synergistic design of the threshold pressure of the liquid-infused sponge and the applied pressure. As the pressure begins to rise, the sponge begins to move. When the pressure reaches a stable value, the sponge stops. To further explore the regulation of the MLGMS, we applied three different gating liquids, i.e., silicone oil (M1), lubricant oil (M2), and deionized (DI) water (M3), in the same porous sponge. Under the same applied pressure, the critical pressure of gas to flow through the MLGMS as well as the displacement of MLGMS increase with increasing the surface tension of the gating liquid (Figure 3a, b). We assembled three MLGMSs in a T-shape chamber and modulated the movement of the pistonlike MLGMS. As mentioned in Figure 3b, the critical pressure follows PCritical M1 < PCritical M2 < PCritical M3. When the applied pressure is lower than the critical pressure of MLGMS 1 with M1 as the gating liquid (P < PCritical M1), all MLGMSs move in the tubes (Figure 3c, State I). As the applied pressure increases and when PCritical M1 < P < PCritical M2, gas only permeates MLGMS 1 while

interface. The liquid gating membrane will move or stop in the confined channel depending on whether the applied pressure is below or above the threshold transmembrane pressure of the gas. We can control this by either rationalizing the gating liquid or the pore geometry of the membrane. For gas to permeate a liquid-infiltrated porous membrane, the capillary pressure across the liquid−gas interface to be conquered is 4γlg/d, with γlg being the gas−liquid surface tension and d being the average pore size. If we utilize various gating liquids with different surface tension in the MLGMS (γI< γII), the MLGMS will have a higher critical pressure due to the higher surface tension of gating liquid (i.e., PCritical I < PCritical II). When the applied pressure P is between the critical pressures of the two MLGMSs (i.e., PCritical I < P < PCritical II), gas will only pass through MLGMS I with the lower threshold pressure (Figure 1a). Therefore, MLGMS I stop in the channel while MLGMS II will keep moving in the channel. If we apply the porous membrane with different pore sizes in the MLGMS (dI > dII), the MLGMS will have a lower critical pressure owing to the larger pore size (i.e., P′Critical I < P′Critical II). With the applied pressure between the two thresholds (i.e., P′Critical I < P′ < P′Critical II), gas will permeate MLGMS I and it stops moving, whereas MLGMS II continue the locomotion in the channel (Figure 1b). Therefore, the MLGMS could be further extended to the application of smart piston and smart valve. 3.2. Regulation of MLGMS by Varying Gating Liquids for Smart Piston Applications. To explore the motion performance of the mobile liquid gating membrane system, a porous cylindrical sponge was placed inside a cylindrical PMMA tube, as shown in Figure 2. The sponge with a diameter of 15 mm was infused with silicone oil, and was placed inside a PMMA tube with an inner diameter of 15 mm. An SEM image of 11978

DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01696 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984

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Figure 3. Regulation of MLGMS by varying gating liquids for the smart piston. (a) Surface tension of different gating liquids. (b) Critical pressure (PCritical M1< PCritical M2< PCritical M3) required for gas to flow through porous materials of various gating liquid in the MLGMS (average pore size, 30 ± 10 μm) and the moving distance of the MLGMS under the corresponding applied pressure. (c) Photos and schematic diagrams of the MLGMS moving in the PMMA tube with different applied pressures. M1, M2, and M3 represent silicone oil, lubricating oil, and deionized water, respectively.

both MLGMS 2 and 3 remain moving (Figure 3c, State II). When PCritical M2 < P < PCritical M3, gas will flow through both MLGMS 1 and 2 and therefore both stop moving. In this case, only MLGMS 3 will keep moving (Figure 3c, State III). Until the applied pressure is above the critical pressure of MLGMS 3, gas passes through the MLGMS 3 and the moving is entirely halted. On the basis of this design, more complicated piston related propelling system could be integrated by designing the unique threshold pressure of the liquid gating system and modulating the relationship between the applied pressure and the threshold pressure. 3.3. Regulation of MLGMS by Modulating the Pore Size for Smart Valve Applications. The influence of pore sizes on the critical pressure of gas through the MLGMS was investigated as shown in Figure 4. SEM images of the PTFE membranes with different pore sizes are shown in Figure 4a. The critical pressure with different pore sizes is examined (Figure 4b). The critical pressure decreases with increasing the pore size of the porous membrane, which is in accordance with the capillary mechanism. As mentioned before, the critical pressure is in proportional to the surface tension of the gating liquids, when different gating liquids are used in the same porous membrane material. The pneumatic elastomer incorporated with MLGMS was further confined in the transparent tube to execute different deformation in one dimension. The minimum pressure of pneumatic elastomer inflationary is 17.59 kPa, as shown in Figure 4c. The images of the pneumatic elastomer’s expansion were inserted in Figure 4c. We further employed the liquid gating design in the pneumatic elastomer to regulate its deformation in a confined tube. The assembly process was illustrated in Figure 4d. The top of an elastomer pocket was passed through

a PMMA rings with an inner diameter of 6 mm and could then be everted to bond to the ring. All MLGMSs with different pore sizes were initially in the same position. The pneumatic elastomer was inflated and the MLGMS moved to a different extent due to the variant critical pressures of MLGMSs. The pneumatic elastomer was pushed forward and moved along the direction of the gas flow. The pneumatic elastomer with a membrane pore size of 0.8 μm could move and expand in the chamber (Figure 4e, I), and the pneumatic elastomer with a membrane pore size of 1 μm moved in the tube except for expansion (Figure 4e, II), whereas the pneumatic elastomer with a membrane pore size of 2 μm did not move at all (Figure 4e, III). That is, the smaller the pore size of the porous membrane is, the higher the critical pressure and the longer the moving distance of MLGMS. This rationale provides potential applications for the dynamic liquid gating membrane system, such as dynamic valves, soft robotics, and soft traps, etc. The applied pressure required for gas to flow through MLGMS with a smaller membrane pore size of 0.65 μm and the moving distance of MLGMS under various flow rates are shown in Figure 5. Both applied pressure and displacement of MLGMS increase with an increase in flow rate. This coincides with Darcy’s Law.13,22,33 P = Qμh/kA

(1)

where Q and μ represent the flow rate and the viscosity of the transport gas, respectively. h, A, and k are the thickness, area, and permeability of the porous membrane, respectively. 3.4. Shape-Morphing of the Pneumatic Elastomer by Controlling the Liquid Gating Membrane System. We further assembled two liquid gating membrane systems with 11979

DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01696 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984

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Figure 4. (a) SEM image of PTFE membrane with different pore size, (I) pore size is 0.8 μm, (II) pore size is 1 μm, (III) pore size is 2 μm, scare bar 1 μm, (b) Critical pressures for air through different size liquid-gated. (c) Pressure change of balloon expansion (inset optical photos with expansion, scare bar 2 cm). (d) Process of preparation elastic and stretchable liquid gating system. (e) Photos of balloon-membrane location after air inflation in the limited one-dimensional direction, (I) pore size is 0.8 μm, (II) pore size is 1 μm, (III) pore size is 2 μm.

the pneumatic elastomers at the free ends to explore the shapemorphing behavior of the elastomer enabled by the liquid gating systems (Figure 6). Two pieces of PTFE membranes with the diameter of 10 mm are glued to the two ends of a Y-shaped chamber (outer diameter is 10 mm and the inner diameter is 8 mm). The Y-shaped chamber is comprised of silicone rubber tubes and connector. A peristaltic pump supplies the gas to the chamber, where the inner pressure is monitored by a pressure sensor. The inflation and deflation process of pneumatic elastomers is illustrated in Figure 6a. The membrane with smaller pore size has been tested to make sure that the elastomer can deform. The pore size of the PTFE membrane is 0.65 μm (M1, Figure 6a) and 0.8 μm (M2, Figure 6a), respectively. The infused gating liquid is silicone oil. Initially, the applied pressure P is lower than both the critical pressure of the two liquid gating membrane systems (P < PCritical M2 < PCritical M1). The pneumatic elastomers are relaxed (no inflation or deflation, Figure 6a I). When the applied pressure is above the two critical pressures (P > PCritical M1 > PCritical M2), both pneumatic elastomers are inflated (Figure 6a, II) and the one with a lower critical pressure experienced a larger deformation within the same period. When the negative pressure is applied to the pneumatic elastomers (P′ > PCritical M1 > PCritical M2), both pneumatic elastomers are deflated and upon further deflation, the one with a lower critical

Figure 5. Applied pressure required for gas to flow through liquid gating porous PTFE materials (average pore size, 0.65 μm) and the distance that the sponge moves under the various flow rates. The gating liquid is silicone oil, and dashed line is the fitting line of experimental data.

pressure deflated completely (Figure 6a, III). Both pneumatic elastomers are in deflation state at the end, the one with a lower critical pressure exhausted totally (Figure 6a, IV). 11980

DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01696 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984

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Figure 6. Shape-morphing of the pneumatic elastomer by controlling the liquid gating membranes.(a) Schematic of the deformation of liquid gating actuated gas pneumatic elastomer under various applied pressures. (b) Photos of shape-morphing of pneumatic elastomer during inflation and deflation with different applied pressures. (c) Applied pressure on a pneumatic elastomer that is inflated and deflated through a liquid gating membrane. Blue and red dashed lines represent the critical pressure of M1 and M2, respectively. The pink area represents the inflation process of pneumatic elastomer, and the blue area represents the deflation process.

membrane systems, the wide selection of the materials and geometries, will be of great benefits in the fields of smart pistons, smart valves, microfluidics, soft robotics, actuators, etc.

Figure 6b demonstrates the real images of the deformation of pneumatic elastomers. In state I, the pneumatic elastomers are in the initial condition. With increasing applied pressure, both elastomers expand, with M2 showing a larger expansion due to the lower threshold gating pressure. Upon further inflation, both pneumatic elastomers keep growing in state II. When negative pressure is applied, both elastomers are deflated (state III) and M2 contracts thoroughly at the end (state IV). The real-time applied pressure during the inflation and deflation process is monitored as shown in Figure 6c, where blue and red dashed lines indicate the critical pressure of M1 and M2, respectively. The expansion and contraction of the pneumatic elastomer are reversible. The work demonstrated here combines the reversible control of the liquid gating system depending on the tunable and reconfigurable nature of the gating liquid, and dynamic shape-morphing of the elastomer due to the elastic nature of the material. The integration of these two functionalities enables applications ranging from smart valves to flow optimization, soft robots, artificial muscles, and beyond.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*Email: [email protected]. Tel.: +86-0592-2180937 (X.H.). ORCID

Xu Hou: 0000-0002-9615-9547 Author Contributions †

W.L., M.W., and Z.S. contributed equally to this work.

Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest. Biographies

4. CONCLUSIONS In summary, we successfully designed a mobile liquid gating membrane system to adapt to changes in applied pressure. By rationalizing the gating liquid and the membrane material, the critical pressure of the mobile liquid gating membrane system could be well designed. Moreover, with the incorporation of elastomeric materials and the modulation of applied pressure, the movement or deformation of the elastomers could be predetermined and programmed. We anticipated that these capabilities, combined with the stability of the liquid gating

Xu Hou received his B.S. Degree (2006) from Sichuan University. He completed his Ph.D. degree (2011) at the National Center for 11981

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Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Nanoscience and Technology, China, under the direction of Prof. Lei Jiang. He did postdoctoral research in Prof. Joanna Aizenberg’s group at Harvard University (2012−2015). He officially joined Xiamen University as a full professor in 2016, and his group mainly focuses on bioinspired and smart multiscale pore/channel systems, membrane science and technology, microfluidics, interfacial science, physical chemistry, electrochemistry, nano/micro fabrication for energy-saving and biomedical applications. In 2019, he was selected into the Periodic Table of Younger Chemists of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC, 2019 is its 100th anniversary), representing the 100th element“Fermium”.

Zhizhi Sheng is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Xu Hou’s group at Xiamen University. She received her B.S. degree (2009) and M.S. degree (2012) from Taiyuan University of Science and Technology. She obtained her Ph.D. degree (2015) from Auburn University, USA. Her current scientific interests are focused on bioinspired smart pore and channel systems, membrane science and technology, microfluidics, and interfacial science.

Xinyu Chen received her bachelor’s degree (2012) from Earlham College, USA, and completed her master’s degree (2014) at Boston University, USA, under the direction of Prof. Robert G. King. She was an assistant editor of the academic book “Design, Fabrication, Properties and Applications of Smart and Advanced Materials” at CRC Press. She is now working at the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, as a research assistant and English writing teacher, and her scientific interests are focused on environmental science, intelligent materials, and materials interfacial design.

Shuli Wang is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Xu Hou’s group at Xiamen University. He received his Ph.D. degree (2018) and B.S. degree (2013) from Jilin University, China, under the direction of Prof. Junhu Zhang. His current scientific interests are focused on the micro/nanofluidic control based on patterned micro/nanostructures, dynamic liquid interfaces, and surface patterning.

Miao Wang is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Xu Hou’s group at Xiamen University. She received her B.S. degree (2010) from Nanjing University of Science and Technology, where her scientific interest was polymer materials for chemical engineering. She completed her Ph.D. degree (2016) at the School of Power and Energy Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, under the direction of Prof. Yimin Xuan and Qiang Li. Her current scientific interests are focused on the design and fabrication of biomimetic smart micro/nanochannel-based membranes for applications in desalination and energy harvesting.

Yaqi Hou is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Xu Hou’s group at Xiamen University. She received her B.S. degree (2012) from Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, where her scientific interest was polymer materials science and technology. She completed her Ph.D. degree (2018) at Beijing University of Chemical Technology. Her current scientific interests are focused on the theoretical calculation and 11982

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and Prof. Xiaolin Fan. His current scientific interests are focused on the design and fabrication of biomimetic smart micro/nanochannel-based flexible membrane for application in soft robots and bionic electronic skin.

simulation of biomimetic smart micro/nanochannel-based membranes for applications in desalination and energy harvesting.

Mengchuang Zhang is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Xu Hou’s group at Xiamen University. He received his B.S. degree (2012) from Northwestern Polytechinal University, where he majored in engineering mechanics. He completed his Ph.D. degree (2018) at Northwestern Polytechinal University with a major in mechanics. His current scientific interests are focused on the simulation of multiphase flow, heat transfer, and mechanics.

Yunmao Zhang is currently a Ph.D. student in Prof. Xu Hou’s group at Xiamen University. He received his B.S. degree (2014) and M.S. degree (2017) from Henan University. His current scientific interests are focused on the fabrication of bioinspired smart membranes and channels for applications in environment science.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Project 2018YFA0209500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21673197, 21621091, 51706191, 21808191), the 111 Project (B16029), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (20720190037), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China (2018J06003), and the Special Project of Strategic Emerging Industries from Fujian Development and Reform Commission. The authors thank Dr. K. Zhan and Dr. B. Chen for the beneficial discussion in the experimental design.

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Wei Liu is currently a Ph.D. Student in Prof. Xu Hou’s group at Xiamen University. He received his B.S. degree (2013) and M.S. degree (2017) from Gannan Normal University under the direction of Prof. Yibao Li 11983

DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01696 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984

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DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01696 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2019, 58, 11976−11984