Formation of Ultrathin,Continuous Metal–Organic Framework Membranes on Flexible Polymer Substrates

Metal–organic framework (MOF) materials have an enormous potential in separation applications, but to realize their potential as semipermeable membranes they need to be assembled into thin continuous macroscopic films for fabrication into devices. By using a facile immersion technique, we prepared ultrathin, continuous zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF‐8) membranes on titania‐functionalized porous polymeric supports. The coherent ZIF‐8 layer was surprisingly flexible and adhered well to the support, and the composite membrane could sustain bending and elongation. The membranes exhibited molecular sieving behavior, close to the theoretical permeability of ZIF‐8, with hydrogen permeance up to 201×10^?7 mol m^?2 s^?1 Pa^?1 and an ideal H₂/CO₂ selectivity of 7:1. This approach offers significant opportunities to exploit the unique properties of MOFs in the fabrication of separation and sensing devices.     

A MOF Glass Membrane for Gas Separation

Metal–organic framework (MOF) glasses are promising candidates for membrane fabrication due to their significant porosity, the ease of processing, and most notably, the potential to eliminate the grain boundary that is unavoidable for polycrystalline MOF membranes. Herein, we developed a ZIF‐62 MOF glass membrane and exploited its intrinsic gas‐separation properties. The MOF glass membrane was fabricated by melt‐quenching treatment of an in situ solvothermally synthesized polycrystalline ZIF‐62 MOF membrane on a porous ceramic alumina support. The molten ZIF‐62 phase penetrated into the nanopores of the support and eliminated the formation of intercrystalline defects in the resultant glass membrane. The molecular sieving ability of the MOF membrane is remarkably enhanced via vitrification. The separation factors of the MOF glass membrane for H₂/CH₄, CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ mixtures are 50.7, 34.5, and 36.6, respectively, far exceeding the Robeson upper bounds.     

Formation of Ultrathin,Continuous Metal–Organic Framework Membranes on Flexible Polymer Substrates

Metal–organic framework (MOF) materials have an enormous potential in separation applications, but to realize their potential as semipermeable membranes they need to be assembled into thin continuous macroscopic films for fabrication into devices. By using a facile immersion technique, we prepared ultrathin, continuous zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF‐8) membranes on titania‐functionalized porous polymeric supports. The coherent ZIF‐8 layer was surprisingly flexible and adhered well to the support, and the composite membrane could sustain bending and elongation. The membranes exhibited molecular sieving behavior, close to the theoretical permeability of ZIF‐8, with hydrogen permeance up to 201×10⁻⁷ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ Pa⁻¹ and an ideal H₂/CO₂ selectivity of 7:1. This approach offers significant opportunities to exploit the unique properties of MOFs in the fabrication of separation and sensing devices.     

High‐Flux Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Membranes for Propylene/Propane Separation by Postsynthetic Linker Exchange

While zeolitic imidazolate framework, ZIF‐8, membranes show impressive propylene/propane separation, their throughput needs to be greatly improved for practical applications. A method is described that drastically reduces the effective thickness of ZIF‐8 membranes, thereby substantially improving their propylene permeance (that is, flux). The new strategy is based on a controlled single‐crystal to single‐crystal linker exchange of 2‐methylimidazole in ZIF‐8 membrane grains with 2‐imidazolecarboxaldehyde (ZIF‐90 linker), thereby enlarging the effective aperture size of ZIF‐8. The linker‐exchanged ZIF‐8 membranes showed a drastic increase in propylene permeance by about four times, with a negligible loss in propylene/propane separation factor when compared to as‐prepared membranes. The linker‐exchange effect depends on the membrane synthesis method.     

Ultra‐Tuning of the Aperture Size in Stiffened ZIF‐8_Cm Frameworks with Mixed‐Linker Strategy for Enhanced CO2/CH4 Separation

ZIF‐8 membrane has the potential for CO₂/CH₄ separation based on size exclusion. But if traditionally prepared by solvothermal methods, it shows only negligible selectivity due to the linker mobility. Here, ≈500 nm‐thin hybrid ZIF‐7_x‐8 membranes with suppressed linker mobility and narrowed window aperture are prepared by a fast current‐driven synthesis (FCDS) within 20 min. The in situ electric field during FCDS allows the formation of stiffened ZIF‐8_Cm as parent skeleton and the mixed‐linker strategy is applied to narrow the aperture size simultaneously. The ZIF‐7₂₂‐8 membrane shows significantly sharpened molecular sieving for CO₂/CH₄ with a separation factor above 25, which soared tenfold compared with other unmodified ZIF‐8 membranes. Additionally, the membrane shows exceptional separation performance for H₂/CH₄ and CO₂/N₂, with separation factors of 71 and 20, respectively. After 180 h temperature swing operation, it still maintains the excellent separation performance.     

Remarkably Enhanced Gas Separation by Partial Self‐Conversion of a Laminated Membrane to Metal–Organic Frameworks

Separation methods based on 2D interlayer galleries are currently gaining widespread attention. The potential of such galleries as high‐performance gas‐separation membranes is however still rarely explored. Besides, it is well recognized that gas permeance and separation factor are often inversely correlated in membrane‐based gas separation. Therefore, breaking this trade‐off becomes highly desirable. Here, the gas‐separation performance of a 2D laminated membrane was improved by its partial self‐conversion to metal–organic frameworks. A ZIF‐8‐ZnAl‐NO₃ layered double hydroxide (LDH) composite membrane was thus successfully prepared in one step by partial conversion of the ZnAl‐NO₃ LDH membrane, ultimately leading to a remarkably enhanced H₂/CH₄ separation factor and H₂ permeance.     

Interactive Thermal Effects on Metal–Organic Framework Polymer Composite Membranes

Polymeric membranes are important tools for intensifying separation processes in chemical industries, concerning strategic tasks such as CO₂ sequestration, H₂ production, and water supply and disposal. Mixed‐matrix and supported membranes have been widely developed; recently many of them have been based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). However, most of the impacts MOFs have within the polymer matrix have yet to be determined. The effects related to thermal behavior arising from the combination of MOF ZIF‐8 and polysulfone have now been quantified. The catalyzed oxidation of the polymer is strongly affected by the MOF crystal size and distribution inside the membrane. A 16 wt % 140 nm‐sized ZIF‐8 loading causes a 40 % decrease in the observed activation energy of the polysulfone oxidation that takes place at a temperature (545 °C) 80 °C lower than in the raw polymer (625 °C).     

Polymer Composite Membrane with Penetrating ZIF‐7 Sheets Displays High Hydrogen Permselectivity

Oriented and penetrating molecular sieving membranes display enhanced separation performance. A polyimide (PI) solution containing highly dispersed ZIF‐7(III) sheets in CHCl₃ was deposited on a glass side and subjected to flat‐scraping with a membrane fabricator. In this way we developed a novel oriented and penetrating ZIF‐7@PI mixed matrix membrane (MMM) with 50 wt. % ZIF‐7 loading. Because the height of the ZIF‐7 sheets (5 μm) is higher than the film thickness, every ZIF‐7 sheet penetrates both surfaces of the polyimide film. Since the ZIF‐7 channels are the dominant pathway for gas permeation, the ZIF‐7@PI MMM displays a high molecular sieve performance for the separation of H₂ (0.29 nm) from larger gas molecules. At 100 °C and 2 bar, the mixture separation factors of H₂/CO₂ and H₂/CH₄ are 91.5 and 128.4, with a high H₂ permeance of about 3.0×10^?7 mol m^?2 s^?1 Pa^?1, which is promising for hydrogen separation by molecular sieving.     

二维材料膜在气体分离领域的最新研究进展

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, led by graphene, have emerged as nano-building blocks to develop high-performance membranes. The atom-level thickness of nanosheets makes a membrane as thin as possible, thereby minimizing the transport resistance and maximizing the permeation flux. Meanwhile, the sieving channels can be precisely manipulated within sub-nanometer size for molecular separation, such as gas separation. For instance, graphene oxide (GO) channels with an interlayer height of about 0.4 nm assembled by external forces exhibited excellent H₂/CO₂ sieving performance compared to commercial membranes. Cross-linking was also employed to fabricate ultrathin (< 20 nm) GO-facilitated transport membranes for efficient CO₂ capture. A borate-crosslinked membrane exhibited a high CO₂ permeance of 650 GPU (gas permeation unit), and a CO₂/CH₄ selectivity of 75, which is currently the best performance reported for GO-based composite membranes. The CO₂-facilitated transport membrane with piperazine as the carrier also exhibited excellent separation performance under simulated flue gas conditions with CO₂ permeance of 1020 GPU and CO₂/N₂ selectivity as high as 680. In addition, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with layered structures, if successfully exfoliated, can serve as diverse sources for MOF nanosheets that can be fabricated into high-performance membranes. It is challenging to maintain the structural and morphological integrity of nanosheets. Poly[Zn₂(benzimidazole)₄] (Zn₂(bim)₄) was firstly exfoliated into 1-nm-thick nanosheets and assembled into ultrathin membranes possessing both high permeance and excellent molecular sieving properties for H₂/CO₂ separation. Interestingly, reversed thermo-switchable molecular sieving was also demonstrated in membranes composed of 2D MOF nanosheets. Besides, researchers employed layered double hydroxides (LDHs) to prepare molecular-sieving membranes via in situ growth, and the as-prepared membranes showed a remarkable selectivity of ~80 for H₂-CH₄ mixture. They concluded that the amount of CO₂ in the precursor solution contributed to LDH membranes with various preferred orientations and thicknesses. Apart from these 2D materials, MXenes also show great potential in selective gas permeation. Lamellar stacked MXene membranes with aligned and regular sub-nanometer channels exhibited excellent gas separation performance. Moreover, our ultrathin (20 nm) MXene nanofilms showed outstanding molecular sieving property for the preferential transport of H₂, with H₂ permeance as high as 1584 GPU and H₂/CO₂ selectivity of 27. The originally H₂-selective MXene membranes could be transformed into membranes selectively permeating CO₂ by chemical tuning of the MXene nanochannels. This paper briefly reviews the latest groundbreaking studies in 2D-material membranes for gas separation, with a focus on sub-nanometer 2D channels, exfoliation of 2D nanosheets with structural integrity, and tunable gas transport property. Challenges, in terms of the mass production of 2D nanosheets, scale-up of lab-level membranes and a thorough understanding of the transport mechanism, and the potential of 2D-material membranes for wide implementation are briefly discussed.     

Fabrication of Ultrathin Membranes Using 2D-MOF Nanosheets for Tunable Gas Separation

Two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic frameworks (MOF) nanosheets have emerged as novel membrane materials for gas separation. However, the development of ultrathin MOF membranes with tunable separation performances is still a challenge. Herein, we developed a facile GO-assisted restacking method to fabricate defect-free membranes with monolayer Zr-BTB nanosheets. Obtained ultrathin membranes ranging from 130 nm to 320 nm show tunable separation performances and exceed the 2008 Robeson upper bound by changing the amount of nanolayers in vertical stacking direction. Furthermore, a heating filtration method was used to change the restacking process of nanosheets in the horizontal direction. As a result, H₂/CO₂ selectivity can be enhanced by two times with the same membrane thickness (130 nm) and H₂ permeance is almost maintained to be 7.0×10⁻⁷ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ pa⁻¹. This method may provide a possible way to efficiently tune the gas separation performances of MOF membranes.     

A Molecular Pillar Approach To Grow Vertical Covalent Organic Framework Nanosheets on Graphene: Hybrid Materials for Energy Storage

Hybrid 2D–2D materials composed of perpendicularly oriented covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and graphene were prepared and tested for energy storage applications. Diboronic acid molecules covalently attached to graphene oxide (GO) were used as nucleation sites for directing vertical growth of COF‐1 nanosheets (v‐COF‐GO). The hybrid material has a forest of COF‐1 nanosheets with a thickness of 3 to 15 nm in edge‐on orientation relative to GO. The reaction performed without molecular pillars resulted in uncontrollable growth of thick COF‐1 platelets parallel to the surface of GO. The v‐COF‐GO was converted into a conductive carbon material preserving the nanostructure of precursor with ultrathin porous carbon nanosheets grafted to graphene in edge‐on orientation. It was demonstrated as a high‐performance electrode material for supercapacitors. The molecular pillar approach can be used for preparation of many other 2D‐2D materials with control of their relative orientation.     

Metal–Organic Framework/PVDF Composite Membranes with High H2 Permselectivity Synthesized by Ammoniation

Herein we report a new ammoniation‐based chemical modification strategy for synthesis of continuous and uniform metal–organic framework (MOF)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes with attractive performance. Ammoniation can promote the support PVDF membrane to produce amino groups, form a nanoparticle structure, and be well cross‐linked; therefore, the high‐density heterogeneous nucleation sites for MOFs growth were provided and the thermal stability and chemical resistance of composite membranes can be greatly improved. The high‐quality layers of representative Cu‐BTC and ZIF‐8 were synthesized on the chemically modified PVDF membranes. By ammoniation, ZIF‐7 can even be grown under harsh synthetic conditions such as in DMF precursor solutions at 403 K. The fabricated MOF/PVDF composite membranes with excellent hollow fiber structures and enhanced structural stability exhibited high H₂ permselectivities for H₂/CO₂ and H₂/N₂.     

Ultrathin Hexagonal Hybrid Nanosheets Synthesized by Graphene Oxide‐Assisted Exfoliation of β‐Co(OH)2 Mesocrystals

In the present study, we report the synthesis of a high‐quality, single‐crystal hexagonal β‐Co(OH)₂ nanosheet, exhibiting a thickness down to ten atomic layers and an aspect ratio exceeding 900, by using graphene oxide (GO) as an exfoliant of β‐Co(OH)₂ nanoflowers. Unlike conventional approaches using ionic precursors in which morphological control is realized by structure‐directing molecules, the β‐Co(OH)₂ flower‐like superstructures were first grown by a nanoparticle‐mediated crystallization process, which results in large 3D superstructure consisting of ultrathin nanosheets interspaced by polydimethoxyaniline (PDMA). Thereafter, β‐Co(OH)₂ nanoflowers were chemically exfoliated by surface‐active GO under hydrothermal conditions into unilamellar single‐crystal nanosheets. In this reaction, GO acts as a two‐dimensional (2D) amphiphile to facilitate the exfoliation process through tailored interactions between organic and inorganic molecules. Meanwhile, the on‐site conjugation of GO and Co(OH)₂ promotes the thermodynamic stability of freestanding ultrathin nanosheets and restrains further growth through Oswald ripening. The unique 2D structure combined with functionalities of the hybrid ultrathin Co(OH)₂ nanosheets on rGO resulted in a remarkably enhanced lithium‐ion storage performance as anode materials, maintaining a reversible capacity of 860 mA h g^?1 for as many as 30 cycles. Since mesocrystals are ubiquitous and rich in morphological diversity, the strategy of the GO‐assisted exfoliation of mesocrystals developed here provides an opportunity for the synthesis of new functional nanostructures that could bear importance in clean renewable energy, catalysis, photoelectronics, and photonics.     

Two‐Dimensional Metal–Organic Framework Nanosheets for Membrane‐Based Gas Separation

Metal–organic framework (MOF) nanosheets could serve as ideal building blocks of molecular sieve membranes owing to their structural diversity and minimized mass‐transfer barrier. To date, discovery of appropriate MOF nanosheets and facile fabrication of high performance MOF nanosheet‐based membranes remain as great challenges. A modified soft‐physical exfoliation method was used to disintegrate a lamellar amphiprotic MOF into nanosheets with a high aspect ratio. Consequently sub‐10 nm‐thick ultrathin membranes were successfully prepared, and these demonstrated a remarkable H₂/CO₂ separation performance, with a separation factor of up to 166 and H₂ permeance of up to 8×10⁻⁷ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ Pa⁻¹ at elevated testing temperatures owing to a well‐defined size‐exclusion effect. This nanosheet‐based membrane holds great promise as the next generation of ultrapermeable gas separation membrane.     

Confinement of Ionic Liquids in Nanocages: Tailoring the Molecular Sieving Properties of ZIF‐8 for Membrane‐Based CO2 Capture

Fine‐tuning of effective pore size of microporous materials is necessary to achieve precise molecular sieving properties. Herein, we demonstrate that room temperature ionic liquids can be used as cavity occupants for modification of the microenvironment of MOF nanocages. Targeting CO₂ capture applications, we tailored the effective cage size of ZIF‐8 to be between CO₂ and N₂ by confining an imidazolium‐based ionic liquid [bmim][Tf₂N] into ZIF‐8’s SOD cages by in‐situ ionothermal synthesis. Mixed matrix membranes derived from ionic liquid‐modified ZIF‐8 exhibited remarkable combinations of permeability and selectivity that transcend the upper bound of polymer membranes for CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ separation. We observed an unusual response of the membranes to varying pressure, that is, an increase in the CO₂/CH₄ separation factor with pressure, which is highly desirable for practical applications in natural gas upgrading.     

Membranes with Fast and Selective Gas‐Transport Channels of Laminar Graphene Oxide for Efficient CO2 Capture

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were engineered to be assembled into laminar structures having fast and selective transport channels for gas separation. With molecular‐sieving interlayer spaces and straight diffusion pathways, the GO laminates endowed as‐prepared membranes with excellent preferential CO₂ permeation performance (CO₂ permeability: 100 Barrer, CO₂/N₂ selectivity: 91) and extraordinary operational stability (>6000 min), which are attractive for implementation of practical CO₂ capture.     

Fabrication of ZIF‐8@SiO2 Core–Shell Microspheres as the Stationary Phase for High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography

The unique features of high porosity, shape selectivity, and multiple active sites make metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) promising as novel stationary phases for high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). However, the wide particle size distribution and irregular shape of conventional MOFs lead to lower column efficiency of such MOF‐packed columns. Herein, the fabrication of monodisperse MOF@SiO₂ core–shell microspheres as the stationary phase for HPLC to overcome the above‐mentioned problems is reported. Zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF‐8) was used as an example of MOFs due to its permanent porosity, uniform pore size, and exceptional chemical stability. Unique carboxyl‐modified silica spheres were used as the support to grow the ZIF‐8 shell. The fabricated monodisperse ZIF‐8@SiO₂ packed columns (5 cm long × 4.6 mm i.d.) show high column efficiency (23 000 plates m^?1 for bisphenol A) for the HPLC separation of endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (bisphenol A, β‐estradiol, and p‐(tert‐octyl)phenol) and pesticides (thiamethoxam, hexaflumuron, chlorantraniliprole, and pymetrozine) within 7 min with good relative standard deviations for 11 replicate separations of the analytes (0.01–0.39, 0.65–1.7, 0.70–1.3, and 0.17–0.91 % for retention time, peak area, peak height, and half peak width, respectively). The ZIF‐8@SiO₂ microspheres combine the advantages of the good column packing properties of the uniform monodisperse silica microspheres and the separation ability of the ZIF‐8 crystals.     

Selective Capture of Carbon Dioxide under Humid Conditions by Hydrophobic Chabazite‐Type Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks

Hydrophobic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) with the chabazite ( CHA ) topology are synthesized by incorporating two distinct imidazolate links. Zn(2‐mIm)_0.86(bbIm)_1.14 (ZIF‐300), Zn(2‐mIm)_0.94(cbIm)_1.06 (ZIF‐301), and Zn(2‐mIm)_0.67(mbIm)_1.33 (ZIF‐302), where 2‐mIm=2‐methylimidazolate, bbIm=5(6)‐bromobenzimidazolate, cbIm=5(6)‐chlorobenzimidazolate, and mbIm=5(6)‐methylbenzimidazolate, were prepared by reacting zinc nitrate tetrahydrate and 2‐mIm with the respective bIm link in a mixture of N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) and water. Their structures were determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and their permanent porosity shown. All of these structures are hydrophobic as confirmed by water adsorption isotherms. All three ZIFs are equally effective at the dynamic separation of CO₂ from N₂ under both dry and humid conditions without any loss of performance over three cycles and can be regenerated simply by using a N₂ flow at ambient temperature.     

HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 Ternary Lamellar Composite and the Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA block copolymers were prepared by the sequential RAFT polymerization of DMAEMA and tBMA, followed by hydrolysis. Phosphotungstic acid (HPW) was anchored to the PDMAEMA blocks through electrostatic interactions and the as‐obtained HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA was added to the synthesis of ZIF‐8. During the formation of ZIF‐8, the PMAA blocks coordinated to the Zn²⁺ ions through their carboxy groups, along with the HPW groups that were anchored to the PDMAEMA blocks. In this way, the block copolymer could consolidate the interactions between HPW and ZIF‐8 and prevent the leakage of HPW. Finally, the HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 ternary lamellar composite was obtained and the structure of the HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 hybrid material was characterized by using powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As a photocatalyst, the HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 ternary lamellar composite showed excellent photoactivity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). The rate of degradation of MB was 0.0240 min^?1, which was 7.5‐times higher than that of commercially available P25 (0.0032 min^?1). In the presence of H₂O₂, the kinetic degradation parameters of the composite reached 0.0634 min^?1, which was about 19.8‐times higher than that of P25.     

Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) Nanorods,Nanotubes, and Nanowires

New mechanisms for the controlled growth of one‐dimensional (1D) metal–organic framework (MOF) nano‐ and superstructures under size‐confinement and surface‐directing effects have been discovered. Through applying interfacial synthesis templated by track‐etched polycarbonate (PCTE) membranes, congruent polycrystalline zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) solid nanorods and hollow nanotubes were found to form within 100 nm membrane pores, while single crystalline ZIF‐8 nanowires grew inside 30 nm pores, all of which possess large aspect ratios up to 60 and show preferential crystal orientation with the {100} planes aligned parallel to the long axis of the pore. Our findings provide a generalizable method for controlling size, morphology, and lattice orientation of MOF nanomaterials.