Abstract
Reverse electrodialysis (RED) offers a promising route to harvest osmotic energy from salinity gradients, yet practical implementation is hindered by the lack of scalable, high-performance ion-selective membranes that combine efficient ion transport with mechanical robustness and environmental sustainability. Here, we report a mixed matrix membrane composed of polyethersulfone (PES), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and lithium titanium oxide (Li₂TiO₃, LTO) that addresses these challenges through biomimetic ion transport channels. The strategic integration of LTO nanoparticles introduces ion-exchange sites and oxygen-rich PES ether linkages to create preferential cation transport pathways that mimic biological ion channels. This mixed matrix design delivers over three-fold cation conduction, a power density of 31.64 W m−2 under a 500-fold salinity, and maintains 8.93 W m−2 when tested with natural seawater and river water, positioning it among state-of-the-art polymer-based RED membranes. The facile blade-coating fabrication, environmental compatibility of constituent materials, and stable operation demonstrate the practical viability of this approach for sustainable blue energy harvesting.
Keywords
cation conduction, mixed matrix membrane, osmotic power conversion, reverse electrodialysis
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
11-15-2026
Article Number
120498
ISSN
00119164
Volume
638
Publication Title
Desalination
Publisher
Elsevier
School
Mineral Recovery Research Centre / School of Engineering
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Tonnah, R. K., Boroumand, Y., Razbin, M., Vahdani, M., Razmjou, A., & Asadnia, M. (2026). Lithium titanate-functionalized mixed matrix polymer membrane for high-performance osmotic energy conversion. Desalination, 638, Article 120498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2026.120498