Balancing in-plane pores and interlayer channels of porous MXene nanosheet membranes for scalable hydrogen purification

Yufei Wang; Zenan Shi; Mide Luo; Yeming Zhai; Changfei Jing; Li Ding; Sheng Dai; Kai Ge Zhou; Libo Li; Shuming Li; Jiayu Luo; Yali Zhao; Wufeng Wu; Zong Lu; Lan Lan; Wenbo Li; Yanying Wei; Haihui Wang

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-64942-6

Balancing in-plane pores and interlayer channels of porous MXene nanosheet membranes for scalable hydrogen purification

Yufei Wang, Zenan Shi, Mide Luo, Yeming Zhai, Changfei Jing, Li Ding, Sheng Dai, Kai Ge Zhou, Libo Li, Shuming Li, Jiayu Luo, Yali Zhao, Wufeng Wu, Zong Lu, Lan Lan, Wenbo Li, Yanying Wei, Haihui Wang

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet membranes exhibit promising H₂ purification due to their atomic thickness. However, the synergistic interplay between in-plane pores and interlayer spacing on gas transport in 2D membrane has never been studied. Here, we engineer porous MXene nanosheets with artificially controllable in-plane pore to construct membranes with precise interlayer spacing, balancing the two types of channels for promising H₂/CO₂ separation. Optimal porous-MXene nanosheet membranes achieve a threefold increase in H₂ permeance (1335 GPU) over nonporous-MXene nanosheet membranes (419 GPU) with comparable H₂/CO₂ selectivity (118). Theory and experiment demonstrate that the larger in-plane pores provide fast mass transfer channels enhancing H₂ permeance, while smaller interlayer spacings as effective sieving channels govern selectivity. The Raman mapping visualizes H₂ transport through in-plane pores. Manufacturing of meter-scale membranes underscores industrial viability. This work establishes universal design principles in high-performance 2D nanosheet membranes for separation, adsorption and catalysis.

Original language	English
Article number	10005
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64942-6
State	Published - Dec 2025
Externally published	Yes

Funding

Y.Y.W. acknowledges the funding from the National Key Research and Development Program (2021YFB3802500), Natural Science Foundation of China (U23A20115, 22078107, 22022805), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2024A1515012724), Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project (2024A04J6251), State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering 2024ZD03, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2025ZYGXZR023). L.L. acknowledges the funding from the Science and Technology Key Project of Guangdong Province (2025B0101060003) and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2024A1515012725). L.D. acknowledges the funding from the National Key Research and Development Program (2023YFB3810700) and Natural Science Foundation of China (22422809).

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Cite this

Wang, Y., Shi, Z., Luo, M., Zhai, Y., Jing, C., Ding, L., Dai, S., Zhou, K. G., Li, L., Li, S., Luo, J., Zhao, Y., Wu, W., Lu, Z., Lan, L., Li, W., Wei, Y., & Wang, H. (2025). Balancing in-plane pores and interlayer channels of porous MXene nanosheet membranes for scalable hydrogen purification. Nature Communications, 16(1), Article 10005. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64942-6

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title = "Balancing in-plane pores and interlayer channels of porous MXene nanosheet membranes for scalable hydrogen purification",

abstract = "Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet membranes exhibit promising H2 purification due to their atomic thickness. However, the synergistic interplay between in-plane pores and interlayer spacing on gas transport in 2D membrane has never been studied. Here, we engineer porous MXene nanosheets with artificially controllable in-plane pore to construct membranes with precise interlayer spacing, balancing the two types of channels for promising H2/CO2 separation. Optimal porous-MXene nanosheet membranes achieve a threefold increase in H2 permeance (1335 GPU) over nonporous-MXene nanosheet membranes (419 GPU) with comparable H2/CO2 selectivity (118). Theory and experiment demonstrate that the larger in-plane pores provide fast mass transfer channels enhancing H2 permeance, while smaller interlayer spacings as effective sieving channels govern selectivity. The Raman mapping visualizes H2 transport through in-plane pores. Manufacturing of meter-scale membranes underscores industrial viability. This work establishes universal design principles in high-performance 2D nanosheet membranes for separation, adsorption and catalysis.",

author = "Yufei Wang and Zenan Shi and Mide Luo and Yeming Zhai and Changfei Jing and Li Ding and Sheng Dai and Zhou, \{Kai Ge\} and Libo Li and Shuming Li and Jiayu Luo and Yali Zhao and Wufeng Wu and Zong Lu and Lan Lan and Wenbo Li and Yanying Wei and Haihui Wang",

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AU - Wang, Yufei

AU - Shi, Zenan

AU - Luo, Mide

AU - Zhai, Yeming

AU - Jing, Changfei

AU - Ding, Li

AU - Dai, Sheng

AU - Zhou, Kai Ge

AU - Li, Libo

AU - Li, Shuming

AU - Luo, Jiayu

AU - Zhao, Yali

AU - Wu, Wufeng

AU - Lu, Zong

AU - Lan, Lan

AU - Li, Wenbo

AU - Wei, Yanying

AU - Wang, Haihui

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet membranes exhibit promising H2 purification due to their atomic thickness. However, the synergistic interplay between in-plane pores and interlayer spacing on gas transport in 2D membrane has never been studied. Here, we engineer porous MXene nanosheets with artificially controllable in-plane pore to construct membranes with precise interlayer spacing, balancing the two types of channels for promising H2/CO2 separation. Optimal porous-MXene nanosheet membranes achieve a threefold increase in H2 permeance (1335 GPU) over nonporous-MXene nanosheet membranes (419 GPU) with comparable H2/CO2 selectivity (118). Theory and experiment demonstrate that the larger in-plane pores provide fast mass transfer channels enhancing H2 permeance, while smaller interlayer spacings as effective sieving channels govern selectivity. The Raman mapping visualizes H2 transport through in-plane pores. Manufacturing of meter-scale membranes underscores industrial viability. This work establishes universal design principles in high-performance 2D nanosheet membranes for separation, adsorption and catalysis.

AB - Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet membranes exhibit promising H2 purification due to their atomic thickness. However, the synergistic interplay between in-plane pores and interlayer spacing on gas transport in 2D membrane has never been studied. Here, we engineer porous MXene nanosheets with artificially controllable in-plane pore to construct membranes with precise interlayer spacing, balancing the two types of channels for promising H2/CO2 separation. Optimal porous-MXene nanosheet membranes achieve a threefold increase in H2 permeance (1335 GPU) over nonporous-MXene nanosheet membranes (419 GPU) with comparable H2/CO2 selectivity (118). Theory and experiment demonstrate that the larger in-plane pores provide fast mass transfer channels enhancing H2 permeance, while smaller interlayer spacings as effective sieving channels govern selectivity. The Raman mapping visualizes H2 transport through in-plane pores. Manufacturing of meter-scale membranes underscores industrial viability. This work establishes universal design principles in high-performance 2D nanosheet membranes for separation, adsorption and catalysis.

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Balancing in-plane pores and interlayer channels of porous MXene nanosheet membranes for scalable hydrogen purification

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