Crystalline porous membrane devices: emerging architectures for carbon-neutral technologies

Crystalline porous materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) are a class of functional materials with periodic extended frameworks, abundant pore structures, designable and adjustable chemical structures. The unique crystalline porous structures facilitate efficient ion transport, provide active sites, and enable molecular separation. Considering these properties, they are regarded as good candidates for fabricating membrane devices in energy and environmental fields, which are closely related to carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of crystalline porous membrane devices. Common membrane fabrication methods are systematically summarized, including hot/cold pressing, in situ solvothermal growth, seed-assisted growth, solution processing, interfacial polymerization (IP), and current-driven synthesis. Additionally, diverse applications of crystalline porous membrane devices are presented, including lithium-metal batteries (LMBs), catalytic electrodes, solar cells, and gas/liquid separation membranes. In particular, we discuss the relationship between micro-structures of membranes and the performance of membrane devices and point out the challenges of crystalline porous membrane devices.