Functionalized Porous Organic Cages

Full salt rejection, high flux

Grafting functional groups into CC3 cage interiors creates synthetic water channels; simulations show fluorinated cages give highest water flux with complete salt rejection and lower activation energy than polyamide RO membranes.

Shiqiang, Cheng · Shang, Yazhuo · Lian, Cheng · Jiang, Jianwen

Langmuir 2026

Specifications

Salt rejection

{'zh': '100', 'en': '100'} %

Activation energy range

{'zh': '12–20', 'en': '12–20'} kJ/mol

Advantages

All channels reject salt completely

All functionalized CC3 channels exhibit complete salt rejection in simulations, ensuring high product water purity for RO desalination.

Lower activation energy than polyamide membranes

The activation energy for water transport in CC3-based channels is 12–20 kJ/mol, lower than that in polyamide RO membranes, implying less temperature sensitivity and potential energy savings.

Applications

• Water treatment membranes：Embed functionalized POCs into membrane active layers to replace polyamide for efficient desalination.
• Biomimetic water channels：Mimic biological water channels' single-file water transport for high selectivity and high flux.
• Porous organic cages：Utilize POC's modifiable interior to precisely tune pore chemistry and optimize water transport.
• Seawater desalination：Provide low-energy, high-rejection synthetic water channel materials for next-generation desalination membranes.