engleski

Light Enhanced Blue Energy Generation using MoS2 Nanopores

Blue energy relies on the osmotic pressure generated between solutions of high and low ionic strength and would provide a sun-and-wind independent energy source at estuaries around the world. Converting this osmotic energy through reverse- electrodialysis relies on ion-selective membranes. A novel generation of these membranes is based on atomically thin MoS2 membranes to decrease the resistance and increase power output. Typically, to achieve good ion permeability ratios, alkaline conditions are used to boost the surface charge in solution. By exploiting the photo- excitability of MoS2 membranes, we are able to rise the ion selectivity of the membrane by a factor of 5 while staying at a neutral pH. We carefully investigate the different spurious effects such as heat which could explain this behavior and concluded that the observed effect is due to a change in the surface charge caused by light-induced charge generation. Furthermore, we find that the behavior of small nanopores is dominated by surface conductance and thus displays a reduced osmotic potential. We introduce a formalism based on the Dukhin number to quantify these effects in the case of a concentration gradient system.

blue energy ; MoS2 ; membrane ; nanopore ; osmotic pressure

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