Dormancy and double-activation strategy for construction of high-performance mixed-matrix membranes

Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) have the potential for energy-efficient gas separation by matching the superior mass transfer and anti-plasticization properties of the fillers with processability and scaling up features of the polymers. However, construction of high-performance MMMs has been prohibited due to low filler-loading and the existence of interfacial defects. Here, high MOF-loaded, i.e., 55 wt %, MMMs are developed by a 'dormancy and double-activation' (DDA) strategy. High MOF precursor concentration suppresses crystallization in the membrane casting solution, realizing molecular level mixing of all components. Then, the polymeric matrix was formed with uniform encapsulation of MOF nutrients. Subsequently, double-activation was employed to induce MOF crystallization: the alkali promotes MOFs nucleation to harvest small porous nanocrystals while excessive ligands activate the metal ions to enhance the MOFs conversion. As such, quasi-semi-continuous mass transfer channels can be formed in the MMMs by the connected MOFs nanocrystals to boost the gas permeability. The optimized MMM shows significantly ameliorated CO₂ permeability, i.e., 2841 Barrer, five-fold enhancement compared with pristine polymer membrane, with a good CO₂ /N₂ selectivity of 36. Besides, the nanosized MOFs intensify their interaction with polymer chains, endowing the MMMs with good anti-plasticization behaviour and stability, which advances practical application of MMMs in carbon capture.