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Creators/Authors contains: "Zaluzec, Nestor J"

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  1. Free, publicly-accessible full text available May 9, 2026
  2. In this manuscript, we report the facile fabrication of large-area model membranes with highly uniform and high aspect ratio pores with diameters <20 nm. These membranes are useful for fundamental investigations of separation by size exclusion in the ultrafiltration regime, where species to be separated from solution have dimensions of 1–100 nm. Such investigations require membranes with narrow pores and high aspect ratios such that the Hagen–Poiseuille equation is followed, enabling well-known models such as the hindered transport model to be evaluated and other affecting factors to be ignored. We demonstrate that the sub-20 nm pores in the membrane are of sufficiently high aspect ratio such that water flux through the membrane is consistent with the Hagen–Poiseuille equation. The fabrication relies on self-assembling block copolymers to form uniform, densely packed patterns with sub-20 nm resolution, sequential infiltration synthesis to convert the block copolymer in situ into a mask with adequate contrast to etch pores with an aspect ratio >5, and low-resolution photolithography to transfer the pattern over a large area into a silicon nitride membrane. Model membranes with narrow pore-size distribution fabricated in this way provide the means to investigate parameters that impact size-selective ultrafiltration separations such as the relationships between solute or particle size and pore size, their distributions, and rejection profiles, and, therefore, test the validity or limits of separation models. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available December 1, 2025
  3. Free, publicly-accessible full text available February 4, 2026
  4. Free, publicly-accessible full text available November 12, 2025
  5. Abstract Imogolite nanotubes (INTs) are predicted as a unique 1D material with spatial separation of conduction and valence band edges but their large band gaps have inhibited their use as photocatalysts. The first step toward using these NTs in photocatalysis and exploiting the polarization‐promoted charge separation across their walls is to reduce their band gap. Here, the modification of double‐walled aluminogermanate INTs by incorporation of titanium into the NT walls is explored. The precursor ratiox= [Ti]/([Ge]+[Ti]) is modulated between 0 and 1. Structural and optical properties are determined at different scales and the photocatalytic performance is evaluated for H2production. Although the incorporation of Ti atoms into the structure remains limited, the optimal condition is found aroundx= 0.4 for which the resulting NTs reveal a remarkable hydrogen production of ≈1500 µmol g−1after 5 h for a noble metal‐free photocatalyst, a 65‐fold increase relative to a commercial TiO2‐P25. This is correlated to a lowering of the recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers for the most active structures. These results confirm the theoretical predictions regarding the potential of modified INTs as photoactive nanoreactors and pave the way for investigating and exploiting their polarization properties for energy applications. 
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