Mixed‐Linker‐Directed Seed‐Free Growth of CO 2 ‐Selective MOF‐303 Membranes

The phenomenon of melting in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has recently garnered attention. Crystalline MOF materials can be transformed into an amorphous glassy state through melt-quenching treatment. The resulting MOF glass structure eliminates grain boundaries and retains short-range order while exhibiting long-range disorder. Based on these properties, it emerges as a promising candidate for high-performance separation membranes. MOF glass membranes exhibit permanent and accessible porosity, allowing for selective adsorption of different gas species. This review summarizes the melting mechanism of MOFs and explores the impact of ligands and metal ions on glassy MOFs. Additionally, it presents an analysis of the diverse classes of MOF glass composites, outlining their structures and properties, which are conducive to gas adsorption and separation. The absence of inter-crystalline defects in the structures, coupled with their distinctive mechanical properties, renders them highly promising for industrial gas separation applications. Furthermore, this review provides a summary of recent research on MOF glass composite membranes for gas adsorption and separation. It also addresses the challenges associated with membrane production and suggests future research directions.

Molecular simulations of MOF adsorbents and membranes for noble gas separations

Design and application of metal–organic framework membranes for gas and liquid separations

Metal−organic frameworks (MOF) are a diverse family of highly porous materials that have potential advantages as adsorbents and membranes for gas separations. Because the fabrication of membranes from crystalline materials is challenging, nothing is currently known about what advantages MOFs may have over more conventional materials for membrane-based separations. We use atomically detailed simulations to present the first information about the performance of MOFs as membranes for gas separations using the separation of CO2/CH4 mixtures by MOF-5 as an example. Describing membrane performance requires information about both mixture adsorption and mixture diffusion in the membrane material. Our results show that mixture effects play a crucial role in determining the performance of MOF-5 membranes under conditions relevant for natural-gas applications, indicating that modeling or experimental studies that examine only single-component gases will be insufficient to understand the properties of MOF-based membranes in practical applications.

Frontiers in Modeling Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal-organic framework membranes: Recent development in the synthesis strategies and their application in oil-water separation

There are many membrane technology related books the publication collection, but this book gathered the up to-date knowledge sharing with technology experts around the world on the application of nanocomposite membrane in water and gas separation. This book consists of 510 pages and 19 chapters in this first edition covering the recent progress and development of the novel nanocomposite membrane and the prospect in various application. Each chapter starts with the preliminary introduction of the topics followed by the in-depth discussion and the concluded remarkably.Chapter 1 and 2 discussed the overview of the nanocomposite membranes in membrane technologies, recent advancement of the materials used and fabrication techniques. Chapter 3 and 5 provide an insight in the selection of polymeric materials, fillers and metal oxides for the fabrication of nanocomposite membrane. This chapter also carefully examined the formation of nanocomposite layers on the membrane by various techniques such as coating, grafting and self-assembly. Chapter 4 overview the heat, mass and charge transfer across the membrane with detailed explanation of the transport phenomenon involved in both porous and non-porous membrane. Chapter 6 to 9 addressed the development of the advanced nanocomposite membranes with detailed discussion on the incorporation of carbon-based nanomaterials (CNTs and GO), molecular sieving nanomaterials (zeolite and MOF), electrospun nanofibrous materials and biomimicking nanomaterials in the nanocomposite membrane. These chapters also discussed the fabrication and coating method of this materials onto the membrane and its effect on both physical and chemical properties of the nanocomposite membranes.Chapter 10 to 13 described the prospect of the nanocomposite membrane in water treatment by various separation techniques such as pressure-driven membrane processes, osmotic-driven membrane processes, membrane distillation and electrodriven membrane processes. These chapters highlighted the application of nanocomposite membranes with different separation processes in the water treatment application with the discussion on the effects of the operation parameter and the current performance of the membranes in respective processes. Chapter 14 to 17 focussed on the application of nanocomposite membrane in various gas separation in natural gas treatment, nitrogen and oxygen enrichment, recovery of hydrogen and production of syngas and gas separation by membrane contactors. These chapter summarized the results demonstrated by the membrane in gas separation and the identification of the challenges faced by the nanocomposite membrane. The last two chapters of the book addressed the outlook of the nanocomposite membrane with thorough examination of the operational and environmental challenges faced for the feasibility of commercialization.This book intended to capture the recent advancement of the nanocomposite membrane in terms of fabrication and its performance in water and gas separation that contributed to the sustainability of membrane technology in the future. More than 50 membrane experts from various countries contributed to this book, providing an insight of nanocomposite membrane which is still inscrutable for many in the separation field. This book will be the vital reference for the researchers, students, membrane technologist, membrane manufacturer or marketeers.

It’s an Interesting MOF, but Is It Stable?

Engineering CAU-10-H in the preparation of mixed matrix membranes for gas separation

Zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) represent an attractive class of crystalline porous materials that possesses regular pore structures. The inherent porosity of these materials has led to an increasing focus on gas separation applications, encompassing adsorption and membrane separation techniques. Here, a brief overview of the critical properties and fabrication approaches for zeolites and MOFs as adsorbents and membranes is given. The separation mechanisms, based on pore sizes and the chemical properties of nanochannels, are explored in depth, considering the distinct characteristics of adsorption and membrane separation. Recommendations for judicious selection and design of zeolites and MOFs for gas separation purposes are emphasized. By examining the similarities and differences between the roles of nanoporous materials as adsorbents and membranes, the feasibility of zeolites and MOFs from adsorption separation to membrane separation is discussed. With the rapid development of zeolites and MOFs towards adsorption and membrane separation, challenges and perspectives of this cutting-edge area are also addressed.

Hierarchical Pore Structures as Highways for Enzymes and Substrates

The control over the size and shape of nanoMOFs is essential for their exploitation in integrated devices such as sensors, membranes for gas separation, photoelectrodes, etc. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of nanowires and three-dimensionally interconnected nanowire networks of Cu-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) by a combination of ion-track technology and electrochemical methods. In particular, Cu nanowires and nanowire networks were electrodeposited inside polymeric etched ion-track membranes and subsequently converted by electrochemical oxidation into different Cu-based MOFs such as the well-known Cu3(BTC)2 (also known as HKUST-1) and the lesser-known MOF Cu(INA)2. The MOFs are formed inside the template, therefore adopting the shape of the host nanochannels. The synthesized MOF nanowires exhibit tunable diameters between 80 and 260 nm. Characterization by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy indicates that the employed electrochemical conversion includes the formation of Cu2O as an intermediate, as well as the initial formation of an amorphous MOF phase, which crystallizes upon longer reaction times.

Polydopamine-assisted minute fabrication of vertically aligned ZIF-L membranes for CO2/N2 separations

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) define a diverse class of nanoporous materials having potential applications in adsorption-based and membrane-based gas separations. We have previously used atomically detailed models to predict the performance of MOFs for membrane-based separations of gases, but these calculations require considerable computational resources and time. Here, we introduce an efficient approximate method for screening MOFs based on atomistic models that will accelerate the modeling of membrane applications. The validity of this approximate method is examined by comparison with detailed calculations for CH4/H2, CO2/CH4, and CO2/H2 mixtures at room temperature permeating through IRMOF-1 and CuBTC membranes. These results allow us to hypothesize a connection between two computationally efficient correlations predicting mixture adsorption and mixture self-diffusion properties and the validity of our approximate screening method. We then apply our model to six additional MOFs, IRMOF-8, -9, -10, and -14, Zn(bdc)(ted)0.5, and COF-102, to examine the effect of chemical diversity and interpenetration on the performance of metal organic framework membranes for light gas separations.

Fabrication of metal–organic framework membranes using solid metal precursors for separation application