Issue 14, 2024

Metal/covalent–organic framework based thin film nanocomposite membranes for advanced separations

Abstract

Polyamide (PA) membranes fabricated using interfacial polymerization (IP) currently dominate the membrane industry and have contributed to various liquid/gas separations. Nonetheless, the major difficulty in controlling the rapid, irreversible IP reaction frequently results in thick polyamide (PA) films with limited free-volume elements, impeding efficient molecule/ion separations. Metal/covalent organic frameworks (MOFs/COFs), with orderly aligned pores and adjustable pore characteristics, offer advantages over traditional fillers in constructing thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes. They provide additional selective nanochannels to improve molecule/ion transport, facilitate a better control of film thickness and surface physicochemical properties, and confer enhanced features like improved antifouling and chlorine-resistant performance. In addition, their customizable pore structures and functions render them promising for the design of TFN molecular membranes for task-specific separations. This review introduces different types of MOFs/COFs and expounds their crucial features for membrane design. Furthermore, recent advancements in ultrahigh permselective MOF/COF-based composite membranes based on molecular-level design are presented, with a focus on comprehensive understanding of their structure–property–function relations. A further analysis of TFN membranes used for gas/liquid separations as well as emerging applications is outlined. Finally, concise conclusions, current challenges, and future prospects for the development and applications of MOF/COF-based TFN membranes are discussed.

Graphical abstract: Metal/covalent–organic framework based thin film nanocomposite membranes for advanced separations

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
25 1 2024
Accepted
27 2 2024
First published
28 2 2024

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024,12, 7975-8013

Metal/covalent–organic framework based thin film nanocomposite membranes for advanced separations

L. Ge, H. Song, J. Zhu, Y. Zhang, Z. Zhou and B. Van der Bruggen, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, 12, 7975 DOI: 10.1039/D4TA00578C

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