Size and Shape Exclusion in 2D Silicon Dioxide Membranes

2D membranes such as artificially perforated graphene are deemed to bring great advantages for molecular separation. However, there is a lack of structure-property correlations in graphene membranes as neither the atomic configurations nor the number of introduced sub-nanometer defects are known precisely. Recently, bilayer silica has emerged as an inherent 2D membrane with an unprecedentedly high areal density of well-defined pores. Mass transfer experiments with free-standing SiO₂ bilayers demonstrated a strong preference for condensable fluids over inert species, and the measured membrane selectivity revealed a key role of intermolecular forces in ångstrom-scale openings. In this study, vapor permeation measurements are combined with quantitative adsorption experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to get insights into the mechanism of surface-mediated transport in vitreous 2D silicon dioxide. The membranes are shown to exhibit molecular sieving performance when exposed to vaporous methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and tert-butanol. The results are normalized to the coverage of physisorbed molecules and agree well with the calculated energy barriers.