Dehydration-enhanced ion-pore interactions dominate anion transport and selectivity in nanochannels.

ABSTRACT: State-of-the-art ion-selective membranes with ultrahigh precision are of significance for water desalination and energy conservation, but their development is limited by the lack of understanding of the mechanisms of ion transport at the subnanometer scale. Herein, we investigate transport of three typical anions (F^-, Cl^-, and Br^-) under confinement using in situ liquid time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry in combination with transition-state theory. The operando analysis reveals that dehydration and related ion-pore interactions govern anion-selective transport. For strongly hydrated ions [(H₂O)_nF^- and (H₂O)_nCl^-], dehydration enhances ion effective charge and thus the electrostatic

SUBMITTER: Lu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10328398 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature