Engineered Smart Gating Nanochannels for High Performance in Formaldehyde Detection and Removal

Abstract Bioinspired nanochannels for smart mass transport control have shown great potential for various applications in nanofluids, biosensing, and separation. Here, a nanochannel‐based smart responsive platform exhibiting high formaldehyde (HCHO) sensitivity is designed and successfully fabricated by functionalizing the inner pore surface with ethylenediamine (EDA). By employing the nucleophilic addition reaction between HCHO and EDA immobilized on the nanochannels, the artificial nanochannels can switch from an open state to a closed state with the increase in HCHO. This is because the surface charge density and the wettability of the nanochannels change along with the HCHO immobilization. Meanwhile, the EDA‐functionalized platform can hold a large amount of HCHO due to the abundant nanochannels of the membrane, so it presents a significant ability to remove HCHO in complex matrices. Also, the cultivation of mesenchymal stem cells in media containing HCHO can achieve excellent vitality in the presence of the EDA‐functionalized nanochannels materials. This work paves an avenue for designing and developing bioinspired nanochannel based platform for harmful compounds detection and removal.