(426f) Tuning Structural Defects on Nominal Single-Layered Graphene Oxide Membrane for Selective Separation of Biomolecules

The advent of 2-dimensional materials provided a unique opportunity to design and synthesize the ideal membrane with ultrathin thickness and precisely controlled molecular-sized pores. Graphene oxide (GO), owing to its water solubility and functionality, has attracted enormous attention for membrane applications. However, standard synthesis of an ideal high-performance membrane is still limited by the thickness of GO membranes, leading to a loss in permeance. Optimizing the deposition methodology of GO flakes on polymeric substrates could address this limitation and enable the synthesis of ultrathin single-layered membranes. In this study, a sequential coating methodology was adopted for depositing single layer GO flakes on a Polycarbonate polymeric support with increments of 10% area-based coating of GO, followed by different time exposure to oxygen plasma in order to form tunable transport pathways on the surface of GO. Also, retention of different single model proteins (BSA, Lysozyme & IgG) and of mixtures of these proteins were measured. In addition, the separation efficiency for similar sized proteins (myoglobin and lysozyme) exhibited separation factors of ~6 with purities of ~92% through the plasma-etched GO membrane. These findings offer new opportunities of using GO flakes to obtain ultrathin membranes on polymeric supports and fabricate tunable GO membranes for possible application in biotechnology industry.