Issue 41, 2021

3D printed MOF-based mixed matrix thin-film composite membranes

Abstract

MOF-based mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) have attracted considerable attention due to their tremendous separation performance and facile processability. In large-scale applications such as CO2 separation from flue gas, it is necessary to have high gas permeance, which can be achieved using thin membranes. However, there are only a handful of MOF MMMs that are fabricated in the form of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes. We propose herein the fabrication of robust thin-film composite mixed-matrix membranes (TFC MMMs) using a three dimensional (3D) printing technique with a thickness of 2–3 μm. We systematically studied the effect of casting concentration and number of electrospray cycles on membrane thickness and CO2 separation performance. Using a low concentration of polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) or PIM-1/HKUST-1 solution (0.1 wt%) leads to TFC membranes with a thickness of less than 500 nm, but the fabricated membranes showed poor CO2/N2 selectivity, which could be attributed to microscopic defects. To avoid these microscale defects, we increased the concentration of the casting solution to 0.5 wt% resulting in TFC MMMs with a thickness of 2–3 μm which showed three times higher CO2 permeance than the neat PIM-1 membrane. These membranes represent the first examples of 3D printed TFC MMMs using the electrospray printing technique.

Graphical abstract: 3D printed MOF-based mixed matrix thin-film composite membranes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Apr. 2021
Accepted
17 Jūn. 2021
First published
26 Jūl. 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2021,11, 25658-25663

3D printed MOF-based mixed matrix thin-film composite membranes

S. K. Elsaidi, M. Ostwal, L. Zhu, A. Sekizkardes, M. H. Mohamed, M. Gipple, J. R. McCutcheon and D. Hopkinson, RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 25658 DOI: 10.1039/D1RA03124D

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