Recent advances and challenges of metal–organic framework membranes for gas separation

Abstract

Gas separation is one of the most critical and challenging steps for industrial processes, and metal–organic framework (MOF) membranes are potential candidates for this application. This review mainly focuses on the recent advances in improving the performance of MOF membranes, involving the issues faced with MOF designation and growth for practical applications. First, we discussed three strategies for permeability and selectivity enhancement of MOF membranes, in terms of obtaining ultra-thin two-dimensional (2D) MOF nanosheets, fine-tuning the pore size of the MOF framework and integrating with other species. Second, we reviewed the recent potential resolutions to the problems of MOF membranes for future practical applications including scale-up preparation and stability improvement. Finally, we summarized our work by providing some general conclusions on the state-of-the-art and an outlook on some development directions of molecule-sieving membranes.