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The ability to obtain a maximum loading of inorganic nanoparticles while maintaining uniform dispersion in the polymer is the key to the fabrication of mixed-matrix membranes with high pervaporation performance in bioalcohol recovery from aqueous solution. Herein, we report the simultaneous spray self-assembly of a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-polymer suspension and a cross-linker/catalyst solution as a method for the fabrication of a well-dispersed ZIF-8-PDMS nanohybrid membrane with an extremely high loading. The ZIF-8-PDMS membrane showed excellent biobutanol-permselective pervaporation performance. When the ZIF-8 loading was increased to 40 wt%, the total flux and separation factor could reach 4846.2 g m(-2) h(-1) and 81.6, respectively, in the recovery of n-butanol from 1.0 wt% aqueous solution (80 °C). This new method is expected to have serious implications for the preparation of defect-free mixed-matrix membranes for many applications.

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Adsorption and self-assembly of glycine on the Cu(111) surface are studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy in an ultrahigh vacuum environment. The results show that the adsorbates are chemisorbed on the surface, may take three different conformations, and can form the 2-D gas phase, the chain phase, and two superstructures (2-D solid phases). Although the chain phase was reported as seen from several other amino acid/Cu(001) systems, a concrete model of it is proposed here for the first time. Besides, detailed models have also been proposed for the two superstructures, for further investigation. Combining the results of the present glycine/Cu(111) system with those obtained previously for the glycine/Cu(110) and -(001) systems, a coherent picture of the behavior of glycine molecules adsorbed on Cu surfaces emerges and is discussed.

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