Modulating molecular and nanoparticle transport in flexible polydimethylsiloxane membranes
Abstract(#br)The ability to fabricate flexible filtration membranes that can selectively separate particles of different sizes is of considerable interest. In this article, we describe a facile, reproducible and simple one-step method to produce pores in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes. We embedded micron-sized NaHCO 3 particles in 50\u003cce:hsp sp=\"0.25\"/\u003eμm thick PDMS films. After curing, the membranes were immersed in concentrated HCl acid. Pores were generated in the membrane by the evolution of CO 2 gas from the reaction of NaHCO 3 and HCl.