Enhancing Sustainable Energy Conversion Efficiency by Incorporating Photoelectric Responsiveness into Multiporous Ionic Membrane
Weipeng Xian, Changjia Zhu, Zhuozhi Lai, Xiuhui Zuo, Qingwei Meng, Li-Ping Zheng, Sai Wang, Zhifeng Dai, Fang Chen, Shengqian Ma, Qi Sun
Abstract
Abstract The evolution of porous membranes has revitalized their potential application in sustainable osmotic‐energy conversion. However, the performance of multiporous membranes deviates significantly from the linear extrapolation of single‐pore membranes, primarily due to the occurrence of ion‐concentration polarization (ICP). This study proposes a robust strategy to overcome this challenge by incorporating photoelectric responsiveness into permselective membranes. By introducing light‐induced electric fields within the membrane, the transport of ions is accelerated, leading to a reduction in the diffusion boundary layer and effectively mitigating the detrimental effects of ICP. The developed photoelectric‐responsive covalent‐organic‐framework membranes exhibit an impressive output power density of 69.6 W m −2 under illumination, surpassing the commercial viability threshold by ≈14‐fold. This research uncovers a previously unexplored benefit of integrating optical electric conversion with reverse electrodialysis, thereby enhancing energy conversion efficiency.