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For faster, longer-lasting water filters, some scientists are looking to graphene —thin, strong sheets of carbon — to serve as ultrathin membranes, filtering out contaminants to quickly purify high volumes of water. Graphene’s unique properties make it a potentially ideal membrane for water filtration or desalination.
But there’s been one main drawback to its wider use: Making membranes in one-atom-thick layers of graphene is a meticulous process that can tear the thin material, creating defects through which contaminants can leak. Now, engineers have devised a process to repair these leaks, filling cracks and plugging holes using a combination of chemical deposition and polymerization techniques. The team then used a process it developed previously to create tiny, uniform pores in the material, small enough to allow only water to pass through. Combining these two techniques, the researchers were able to engineer a relatively large, defect-free graphene membrane — about the size of a penny.Image credit: Courtesy of the researchers
