Swelling of Graphene Oxide Membranes in Aqueous Solution: Characterization of Interlayer Spacing and Insight into Water Transport Mechanisms

Graphene oxide (GO) has recently emerged as a promising 2D nanomaterial to make high-performance membranes for important applications. However, the aqueous-phase separation capability of a layer-stacked GO membrane can be significantly limited by its natural tendency to swell, that is, absorb water into the GO channel and form an enlarged interlayer spacing (d-spacing). In this study, the d-spacing of a GO membrane in an aqueous environment was experimentally characterized using an integrated quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation and ellipsometry. This method can accurately quantify a d-spacing in liquid and well beyond the typical measurement limit of ∼2 nm. Molecular simulations were conducted to…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Awards: DE-IA0000018, DE-AC02-05CH11231
• DO
  Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems

  Award: CBET-1565452