Abstract Self-regulation of membrane permeability performance is highly desirable for porous membrane applications. Inspired by the stomatal closure behaviour of plant leaves in response to environmental changes, here we report a series of dual thermo- and pH-responsive membranes based on the poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) core/poly(N-isopropylacrylaminde) (PNIPAM) shell microgels. The stimuli-responsive microgels underwent in situ surface segregation and uniformly decorated on the surface of internal channels during the phase inversion process. The hydraulic permeability performance of the dual responsive membranes (DRMs) has been investigated within a temperature range of 20–50 °C and a wide pH range (spanning pH 2–6). The water flux of optimized membrane (M2) varied from 1.94 kg m−2 h−1 at 20 °C/pH 2–474.91 kg m−2 h−1 at 50 °C/pH 6 with a high gating ratio of 245. Investigations revealed that microgels based on different thickness of PNIPAM shell conferred different thermo-/pH-responsive properties to the DRMs. For example, the thicker PNIPAM shell enhanced the thermo-response performance, while the pH-response performance was restrained. These optimum smart gating membranes with enhanced gating coefficient and reversibility are potential for the applications in water gating and controlled release systems.

中文翻译：

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具有增强门控比和可逆性能的仿生双刺激响应膜，用于水门控

摘要 多孔膜应用非常需要膜渗透性能的自我调节。受植物叶片对环境变化的气孔关闭行为的启发，我们报告了一系列基于聚（4-乙烯基吡啶）（P4VP）核/聚（N-异丙基丙烯酰胺）的双热和 pH 响应膜(PNIPAM) 壳微凝胶。在相转化过程中，刺激响应微凝胶经历了原位表面分离并均匀地装饰在内部通道的表面。在 20-50°C 的温度范围和较宽的 pH 范围（跨越 pH 2-6）内研究了双响应膜 (DRM) 的透水性能。优化膜 (M2) 的水通量在 20 °C/pH 2–474 时为 1.94 kg m-2 h-1。91 kg m-2 h-1 在 50 °C/pH 6 下具有 245 的高门控比。研究表明，基于不同厚度的 PNIPAM 壳的微凝胶赋予 DRM 不同的热/pH 响应特性。例如，较厚的 PNIPAM 壳增强了热响应性能，而 pH 响应性能受到抑制。这些具有增强的门控系数和可逆性的最佳智能门控膜具有用于水门控和控释系统的潜力。