Na+-gated water-conducting nanochannels for boosting CO2 conversion to liquid fuels

Robust, gas-impeding water-conduction nanochannels that can sieve water from small gas molecules such as hydrogen (H-2), particularly at high temperature and pressure, are desirable for boosting many important reactions severely restricted by water (the major by-product) both thermodynamically and kinetically. Identifying and constructing such nanochannels into large-area separation membranes without introducing extra defects is challenging. We found that sodium ion (Na+)-gated water-conduction nanochannels could be created by assembling NaA zeolite crystals into a continuous, defect-free separation membrane through a rationally designed method. Highly efficient in situ water removal through water-conduction nanochannels led to a substantial increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion and methanol yield in CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production.