Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40781082›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Amorphous polymers separate small organic molecules with switchable selective states.

Jiani Li, Changhui Liu, Peiyao Yan, Kaijie Chen, Yan Jiang, Dongdong Liu, Huiting Shan, Xianyu Song, Bohui Lyu, Jianwen Jiang and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Jiani Li *Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-6223-6502
Changhui Liu *Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
Peiyao Yan *Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7377-1808
Kaijie ChenDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
Yan JiangDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
Dongdong LiuDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-6796-2784
Huiting ShanDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
Xianyu SongDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5572-9152
Bohui LyuDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
Jianwen JiangDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1310-9024
Siowling SohDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore. chessl@nus.edu.sg.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4294-6772

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Structured porous materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), are being intensely developed because they can separate small molecules via precisely constructed and uniformly sized pores, despite challenges that hinder practical use. Polymers are structurally amorphous; hence, they are not considered fundamentally capable of separating different organic molecules. This manuscript reports that amorphous polymers can be prepared to separate different small organic molecules (i.e., solutes dissolved in a solvent) effectively, with very large separation factors of ~1000 and ~100,000. Effective separation involves fundamentally a delicate balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity and dynamic mobility of polymeric chains to produce optimal pores. Therefore, structured pores are not fundamentally essential for molecular separation - amorphous pores are effective. These stimuli-responsive polymers have reversibly switchable states with completely opposite selectivities. They are multifunctional: they separate by polarity, size, and with opposite selectivities. Hence, they can separate many different molecules in complex solutions. These polymers are simple and inexpensive to fabricate for widespread use.

Identifiers

PMID40781082
PMCPMC12334584

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.