Membrane Science and Technology

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Preparation and ion separation performance of cross-linked graphene oxide membranes

Authors： CUI Yanfeng1,2， WANG Mengzhen1,3， MA Lanying1,2， LIU Xuejing1,3， ZHU Donghai1,3， FENG Haitao1,2

Units： 1. Key Laboratory of Green and High-end Utilization of Salt Lake Resources， Qinghai Institute of
Salt Lakes， Chinese Academy of Sciences， Xining 810008， China； 2. Qinghai Engineering and
Technology Research Center of Comprehensive Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, Xining 810008，
China； 3. School of Chemical Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China

KeyWords： graphene oxide membrane; chitosan crosslinking; interlayer spacing regulation; ion separation

ClassificationCode：TQ028

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(3):149-161

Abstract：

The interlayer spacing of graphene oxide (GO) membranes is intrinsically narrow and fixed, making it difficult to achieve precise separation of ions with similar sizes. In this study, chitosan (CS) and Zn2+ were sequentially introduced into the GO interlayer via vacuum-assisted filtration, a GO/CS/Zn composite film with adjustable interlayer spacing and enhanced structural stability was successfully constructed. In the quaternary mixed solution system, the GO/CS/Zn membrane exhibited a high K+ flux of 0.25 mol/(m2·h) and an outstanding K+/Mg2+ separation factor of 50.84, and the separation factors for Na+/Mg2+, Li+/Mg2+, and K+/Li+ reached 25.32, 9.97, and 5.10, respectively, which were about 11.9-, 8.5-, 5.5-, and 2.2-fold improvements compared with those of the pristine GO membrane. In addition, the GO/CS/Zn composite membrane maintained good structural integrity after 15 consecutive cycles, indicating its promising application potential in high selectivity separation of mono-/di-valent metal ions.

Funds：

青海省科技厅基础研究计划——应用基础研究（2024-ZJ-732）

AuthorIntro：

第一作者简介：崔燕峰（1983-），女，河南鲁山人，副研究员，博士，主要研究方向为膜分离技术，盐湖单价离子分离膜材料构筑及应用. 通讯作者，崔燕峰，E-mail：cyf111@isl.ac.cn；朱东海，E-mail：zhudonghai-2001@163.com

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