Water transport through nanoporous materials: Porous silicon and single walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

We report upon the pressure driven water transport through porous silicon (pSi) and single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) membranes. Fabrication of the membranes was monitored by AFM and SEM. Water permeability as high as 16926 mm3 cm-2 s-1 atm-1 is found for the pSi membrane. The SWCNT membrane is built upon the pSi membrane and a water permeability of 0.02 mm3 cm-2 s-1 atm-1 is achieved. Performance comparisons to similar CNT membranes are made and future improvements to the system are proposed.