Min A Kim, Paul Fenter, Sang Soo Lee, Katrina I. Sparks, Yining Liu, Jeffrey W. Elam, Seth B. Darling
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are physical building blocks of laminar membranes with interlayer channels for ion and molecular transport. Here, we systematically investigate the influence of lateral sheet size on the ion permeability and structural organization of vermiculite membranes. We show that the sheet size plays a significant role in governing the microstructure of these laminar systems. High resolution x-ray diffraction analysis reveals changes in mosaic distribution and vertical domain size depending upon exfoliate lateral size, leading to changes in the degree of polycrystallinity of the membrane. As these structural variations influence ion transport processes through the membrane, we highlight the need of careful size control of exfoliated 2D materials and structural disorder analysis for 2D laminar membrane development.