Asymmetric Nanoporous Alumina Membranes for Nanofluidic Osmotic Energy Conversion

Reverse electrodialysis utilizing membranes holds great potential in harvesting osmotic energy from salinity gradients, with the ion-selective membrane being a crucial component.. This review provides an overview of asymmetric alumina membranes for osmotic energy conversion. Compared with other membranes, asymmetric porous alumina membranes have aligned nanochannels, which could make the power densities several orders of magnitude higher over conventional membranes. The fabrication process of AAO and asymmetric porous alumina membranes is discussed, their current applications in osmotic energy conversion research using AAO substrates surveyed, and the materials used in constructing asymmetric structures with AAO summarized. More information can be found in the Review by Chen Wang, Lulu Li et al.