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Electrophoretic Crystallization of Ultrathin High-performance Metal-organic Framework Membranes
Published on: August 16, 2018
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Asymmetrical covalent organic framework mixed matrix membranes for highly efficient gas separation.
Li-Hua Qi1, Zheng Wang2,3, Tong-He Zhang1
1College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, Ningxia, China.
Nature Communications
|January 22, 2026
Summary
Highly efficient Covalent Organic Framework (COF)-mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated for H2/CO2 separation. This scalable method yields membranes with excellent selectivity and permeance for industrial gas separation applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Developing advanced membranes for efficient gas separation is crucial for industrial processes.
- Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) offer tunable properties by incorporating selective fillers into polymer matrices.
- Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) show promise as high-performance fillers due to their tunable porosity and stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a facile and scalable strategy for fabricating centimeter-scale, high-performance COF-mixed matrix membranes (COF-MMMs).
- To investigate the in situ interfacial polymerization (IP) of COFs within a Polyether sulfone (PES) matrix for enhanced H2/CO2 separation.
- To evaluate the gas separation performance, specifically H2/CO2 selectivity and H2 permeance, of the fabricated COF-MMMs.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of COF-MMMs using a non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS)-triggered in situ interfacial polymerization (IP) strategy.
- Creation of an ultrathin COF membrane on a PES skin layer, with dispersed COF nanocrystals within the PES matrix.
- Characterization of membrane structure, including interfacial integrity between COF nanocrystals and the PES matrix.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated seamless, centimeter-scale COF-MMMs with an ultrathin COF layer (15-30 nm) and well-dispersed COF nanocrystals (4-8 nm) within the PES matrix.
- Observed no interfacial defects between the COF nanocrystals and the PES matrix, ensuring structural integrity.
- Achieved high H2/CO2 selectivity of 88.8 ± 2.46 and high H2 permeance of 2738 ± 58.02 GPU at 298 K.
Conclusions:
- The proposed NIPS-triggered in situ IP strategy is effective for fabricating large-scale, high-performance COF-MMMs.
- The resulting COF-MMMs demonstrate excellent potential for efficient H2/CO2 separation in industrial applications.
- This study provides a facile route towards scalable production of advanced membranes for gas separation.
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