As you mentioned, the emergence of the diffusion potential is connected to the dispersion of electrolyte ions in solution against the concentration gradient. A double electric layer and corresponding potential jump are formed at the interface between the two solutions due to the faster rate at which ions diffuse into a more diluted solution. I agree with you that osmosis is very important in nature and is also used in modern technologies, for example, for separating mixtures or generating “green” electricity. I want to add that osmosis is the flow of water and other solvents through a semi-permeable membrane from an area with a low concentration of solute to a room with a higher concentration. In the ALDS mode (PRO setup), rejected salts build, resulting in concentrative internal concentration polarization (DICP), and as the water permeates through the support, it dilutes the draw solution, causing DCP (Kaleekkal et al., 2022). When the concentration on both sides of the membrane equalizes, or when there is more moisture on one side, osmosis ceases to function.
According to the prevailing opinion, osmosis is thought to be a property of semi-permeable membranes or those that almost entirely block solute molecules. Later, it was discovered that aquaporins are major transport channels for water that allow it to enter and exit cells while being affected by osmotic pressure (Tkacs et al., 2020). To what you already mentioned, I would like to add that aquaporins are tiny, extremely hydrophobic transmembrane proteins. The presence of internal homology between the two halves of the molecule serves as their defining characteristic. Aquaporin’s practical value is significant because it represents the next step in developing water purification technologies. By assisting the cell membrane in carrying out water transport, aquaporin enables the return of direct osmosis, which can function at lower pressure due to the selectivity of these transport proteins.
References
Kaleekkal, N. J., Nambikkattu, J., Rasheeda Satheesh, A., Gonzales, R. R., Shon, H. K., & Vigneswaran, S. (2022). Engineered osmosis – sustainable technology for water recovery, product concentration and energy generation. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 8(7), 1326–1358. Web.
Tkacs, N. C., Herrmann, L. L., & Johnson, R. L. (2020). Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Genetic Diseases. In Advanced physiology and pathophysiology: Essentials for clinical practice (1st ed.). Springer Publishing Company.