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1.D.112.  The Carbon-Nitride Nanotube Membrane (CN-NT) Family 

Biological light-driven ion pumps move ions against a concentration gradient to create a membrane potential, thus converting sunlight energy directly into an osmotic potential. Xiao et al. 2019 described an artificial light-driven ion pump system in which a carbon nitride nanotube membrane drives ions thermodynamically uphill against an up to 5000-fold concentration gradient by illumination. The separation of electrons and holes in the membrane under illumination results in a transmembrane potential which is thought to be the foundation for the pumping phenomenon. When used for harvesting solar energy, a sustained open circuit voltage of 550 mV and a current density of 2.4 muA/cm2 can reliably be generated, which can be further scaled up through series and parallel circuits of multiple membranes. The ion transport based photovoltaic system proposed offers a roadmap for the development of devices by using simple, cheap, and stable polymeric carbon nitride (Xiao et al. 2019).

References associated with 1.D.112 family:

Xiao, K., L. Chen, R. Chen, T. Heil, S.D.C. Lemus, F. Fan, L. Wen, L. Jiang, and M. Antonietti. (2019). Artificial light-driven ion pump for photoelectric energy conversion. Nat Commun 10: 74. 30622279