A crosslinkable copolymer is provided. The crosslinkable copolymer has pendant cationic nitrogen-containing groups with some, but not all, of these pendant groups further including a (meth)acryloyl group. The (meth)acryloyl groups can react to form a crosslinked copolymer that is ionically conductive. The crosslinked copolymer can be used to provide an anion exchange membrane that can be used in electrochemical cells such as fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries, and electrodialysis cells.

A novel fibrous membrane comprises at least one substrate layer comprising at least 80% by weight of microfibers that carry positively charged and/or negatively charged functional groups, and at least one layer of filtration material attached to the substrate layer, wherein the layer of filtration material comprises at least 80% by weight of nanofibers that carry negatively charged and/or positively charged functional groups. The fibrous membrane is able to remove or reduce the concentration of bacteria, viruses and heavy metals while maintaining relatively high water flow. A filter comprising the fibrous membrane and a method for manufacturing the fibrous membrane are also provided.

An article that can be used for biomaterial capture comprises (a) a porous substrate; and (b) borne on the porous substrate, a polymer comprising interpolymerized units of at least one monomer consisting of (1) at least one monovalent ethylenically unsaturated group, (2) at least one monovalent ligand functional group selected from acidic groups, basic groups other than guanidino, and salts thereof, and (3) a multivalent spacer group that is directly bonded to the monovalent groups so as to link at least one ethylenically unsaturated group and at least one ligand functional group by a chain of at least six catenated atoms.

Provided is a porous composite membrane including graphene oxide sheets; nanoparticles bound to a surface of the graphene oxide sheets solely by electrostatic and/or Van der Waals interactions. The present invention also relates to a method of producing the porous composite membrane, a gas separation system including the porous composite membrane, and uses of the porous composite membrane in a process for separating H.sub.2 from a gas stream and a process for reducing H.sub.2O swelling in a graphene oxide-based membrane.

An electrochemical system utilizes an anion conducting layer disposed between an anode and a cathode for transporting a working fluid. The working fluid may include carbon dioxide that is dissolved in water and is partially converted to carbonic acid that is equilibrium with bicarbonate anion. An electrical potential across the anode and cathode creates a pH gradient that drives the bicarbonate anion across the anion conducting layer to the cathode, wherein it is reformed into carbon dioxide. Therefore, carbon dioxide is pumped across the anion conducting layer.

The present disclosure relates to a microporous hollow fiber filter membrane having a large inner diameter and a thin wall. The fiber can be used for sterile filtration of liquids or removal of particles from liquids. The disclosure further relates to a method for producing the membrane and a filter device comprising the membrane.

An ultrafiltration/nanofiltration membrane with gas-tunable pore size is provided. This membrane comprises an active layer arranged between two porous support layers, wherein the active layer is formed of randomly arranged cellulose nanocrystals, wherein pores are defined in the active layer by the free spaces existing between the randomly arranged cellulose nanocrystals, and wherein chains of a CO.sub.2-responsive polymer are grafted on the surface of the cellulose nanocrystals. There are also provided methods for filtering a feed using the membrane, for tuning the apparent pore size/MWCO/charge of the membrane, for cleaning the membrane, and for manufacturing the membrane.

A separation membrane (10) of the present disclosure includes: a separation functional layer (30) composed of a polyamide; and a coating (40) covering the separation functional layer (30) and containing a polymer having a repeating unit represented by the following formula (1). In the formula (1), N.sup.+ is a nitrogen atom constituting a quaternary ammonium cation, and R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are each independently a substituent containing a carbon atom bonded to the nitrogen atom. ##STR00001##

The present disclosure provides the synthesis of an imidazolium-based functional ionic liquid copolymer (PMMA-b-PIL-R*) and a preparation method of an alloy ultra-filtration membrane. Firstly, PMMA-b-PIL-R* is prepared from methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymerizable imidazolium-based functional ionic liquid (IL-R*) containing double bonding as the reactive monomers through sequential radical polymerization. With the use of a non-solvent induced phase separation method, PMMA-b-PIL-R* is introduced into the body of a polymeric membrane material, so as to prepare an alloy ultra-filtration membrane. A hydrogen-bond interaction is generated between the carbonyl in the molecular chain of PMMA-b-PIL-R* and the H . . . C—Cl structure in the molecular chain of the polymeric membrane material, which enhances the compatibility between the molecular chains of PMMA-b-PIL-R* and the polymeric membrane material, so that it can be stable in the ultra-filtration membrane; the imidazole groups and functional groups in the molecular chain of PMMA-b-PIL-R* can provide a good hydrophilicity.

An electrochemical system utilizes an anion conducting layer disposed between an anode and a cathode for transporting a working fluid. The working fluid may include carbon dioxide that is dissolved in water and is partially converted to carbonic acid that is equilibrium with bicarbonate anion. An electrical potential across the anode and cathode creates a pH gradient that drives the bicarbonate anion across the anion conducting layer to the cathode, wherein it is reformed into carbon dioxide. Therefore, carbon dioxide is pumped across the anion conducting layer.