Imparting Ion Selectivity to Covalent Organic Framework Membranes Using de Novo Assembly for Blue Energy Harvesting

It has long been a challenge to fabricate angstrom-sized functional pores for mimicking the function of biological channels to afford selective transmembrane transport. In this study, we describe a facile strategy to incorporate ionic elements into angstrom-sized channels using de novo encapsulation of charged dye molecules during the interface polymerization of a three-dimensional covalent organic framework (3D COF). We demonstrate that this approach is tailorable as it enables control over both the type and content of the guest and thus allows manipulation of the membrane function. The resulting membranes exhibit excellent permselectivity and low membrane resistance, thereby indicating the potential for harvesting salinity gradient (blue) energy. As a proof-of-concept study, the reverse electrodialysis device coupled with positive and negative dye encapsulated COF membranes afforded a power density of up to 51.4 W m–2 by mixing the simulated seawater and river water, which far exceeds the commercialization benchmark (5 W m–2). We envision that this strategy will pave the way for constructing new multifunctional biomimetic systems.