Bifunctional chelating resin-modified polymer membrane for sustainable osmotic energy generation

Author Identifier (ORCID)

Munirah Mohammad: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7168-2462

Yasaman Boroumand: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9716-4609

Amir Razmjou: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3554-5129

Abstract

Ion-selective membrane-based reverse electrodialysis (RED) has the potential to convert osmotic energy into electricity, offering a promising solution to complement the global renewable energy supply. However, the development of scalable, eco-friendly, polymer-based ion-selective membranes that achieve both high power density and long-term stability remains a crucial challenge. In this study, we present a stable mixed matrix membrane (MMM) by incorporating a bifunctional chelating resin into a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane to enhance cation conduction. The introduction of phosphonic and sulfonic acid-functionalized ion-selective resins, which exhibit a high affinity for metal ions due to the presence of abundant oxygen atoms, significantly improves both ion conduction and selectivity. As a result, the mixed matrix membrane achieves a remarkable power density of 26.5 W/m2under a 500-fold salt gradient, and a real-world output power of 8.80 W/m2is generated at the interface of natural seawater and freshwater. The MMM fabrication offers a viable, cost-effective, and scalable approach for enhancing osmotic energy conversion in ion-selective polymers, paving the way for its application in sustainable energy harvesting, redox flow batteries, and ion separation technologies.

Keywords

Bifunctional chelating resin, mixed matrix membrane, reverse electrodialysis, salinity gradient power generation, sulfonic and phosphonic acid functional groups

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

9-12-2025

Volume

7

Issue

17

Publication Title

ACS Applied Polymer Materials

Publisher

ACS

School

School of Engineering

Comments

Tonnah, R. K., Mohammad, M., Xiao, H., Razbin, M., Arshadi, F., Boroumand, Y., Razmjou, A., & Asadnia, M. (2025). Bifunctional chelating Resin-Modified polymer membrane for sustainable osmotic energy generation. ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 7(17), 11164–11174. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.5c01709

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First Page

11164

Last Page

11174

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1021/acsapm.5c01709