ZIF-L membrane with a membrane-interlocked-support composite architecture for H/CO separation

Metal–organic framework(MOF)membranes hold great promise in energy-efficient chemical separations.The outstanding challenges of the microstructural design stem from(1)thinning of membranes to immensely reduce the mass-transfer resistance(for high permeances);(2)tuning of orientation to optimize the selective transport of gas molecules,and(3)reinforcement of intercrystalline structure to subside leakage through defective gaps(for high selectivity).Here,we propose the ZIF-L membrane that is completely confined into the voids of the alumina support through an interfacial assembly process,producing an appealing membrane-interlocked-support(MIS)composite architecture that meets the requirements of the microstructural design of MOF membranes.Consequently,the membranes show average H2 permeances of above 4000 GPU and H_(2)/CO_(2) separation factor(SF)of above 200,representing record-high separation performances of ZIF-L membranes and falling into the industrial target zone(H_(2) permeance>1000 GPU and H_(2)/CO_(2) SF>60).Furthermore,the ZIF-L membrane possessing the MIS composite architecture that is established with alumina particles as scaffolds shows mechanical stability,scraped repeatedly by a piece of silicon rubber causing no selectivity loss.