1 research outputs found
Dehydrated Biomimetic Membranes with Skinlike Structure and Function
Novel vapor-permeable materials are sought after for
applications
in protective wear, energy generation, and water treatment. Current
impermeable protective materials effectively block harmful agents
but trap heat due to poor water vapor transfer. Here we present a
new class of materials, vapor permeable dehydrated nanoporous biomimetic
membranes (DBMs), based on channel proteins. This application for
biomimetic membranes is unexpected as channel proteins and biomimetic
membranes were assumed to be unstable under dry conditions. DBMs mimic
human skin’s structure to offer both high vapor transport and
small molecule exclusion under dry conditions. DBMs feature highly
organized pores resembling sweat pores in human skin, but at super
high densities (>1012 pores/cm2). These DBMs
achieved exceptional water vapor transport rates, surpassing commercial
breathable fabrics by up to 6.2 times, despite containing >2 orders
of magnitude smaller pores (1 nm vs >700 nm). These DBMs effectively
excluded model biological agents and harmful chemicals both in liquid
and vapor phases, again in contrast with the commercial breathable
fabrics. Remarkably, while hydrated biomimetic membranes were highly
permeable to liquid water, they exhibited higher water resistances
after dehydration at values >38 times that of commercial breathable
fabrics. Molecular dynamics simulations support our hypothesis that
dehydration induced protein hydrophobicity increases which enhanced
DBM performance. DBMs hold promise for various applications, including
membrane distillation, dehumidification, and protective barriers for
atmospheric water harvesting materials