Zeolite imidazolate framework (ZIF)‐based mixed matrix membranes for CO₂ separation: A review

Abstract

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), which combine the good separation performance of inorganic materials with the low cost of polymers, have emerged as a research hotspot for gas separation membranes. Zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are widely used as fillers to prepare MMMs owing to their advantageous characteristics, such as adjustable pore channels, unsaturated sites, and easy functionalization. For MMMs, three directions can be employed as criteria for improvement compared with pristine polymeric membranes. In this article, the progress of ZIF-based MMMs is reviewed from the aspects of sole-ZIF-based MMMs and modified ZIFbased MMMs. Both strategies improve the separation performance through different improvement directions and mechanisms. Our analysis shows that the synergistic effect of the modified filler can change the structure of the membranes, such as by improving the filler-polymer interface voids, which provides a foundation to overcome the trade-off effect to a certain extent.

Recent Advances in Polymer-Inorganic Mixed Matrix Membranes for CO2 Separation

“…Typical ZIFs such as ZIF-7, ZIF-8, ZIF-11, ZIF-67, ZIF-71, ZIF-90, ZIF-95, ZIF-301, ZIF 302, etc., have been fabricated as sole ZIF MMMs [ 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 ] or modified ZIF MMMs [ 95 , 126 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 ] for different gas separation applications, such as for CO 2 /CH 4 , CO 2 /N 2 , H 2 /CH 4 , C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 , etc. For example, Guan et al highlighted recent research progress in ZIF-based MMMS for CO 2 separation [ 118 ]. The synergistic effect of the modified ZIFs can change the structure of the membrane with enhanced interfacial compatibility, and thus improve the separation performance.…”

Exploring the Potential Application of Matrimid® and ZIFs-Based Membranes for Hydrogen Recovery: A Review

“…ZIFs, constructed by the tetrahedral coordination of transition metal cations, mainly zinc or cobalt, with imidazole-based ligands, comprise a family of more than a hundred compounds. High specific area, porous channels, availability of structures and easy functionalization are some of the advantages of these materials, providing high selectivity when correctly selected for the proper gas [ 75 ]. Among them, ZIF-8, ZIF-90, ZIF-11, ZIF-7 and ZIF-71 constitute the group of ZIFs mostly employed.…”

“…An extensive comparison of the performance of polymeric membranes based on different materials and the use of a wide variety of fillers can be found elsewhere; therefore, this review will focus mainly on alternative materials, methods and procedures that have contributed to the improvement of the hydrogen recovery results already discussed in the previous section [ 25 , 33 , 35 , 40 , 75 , 81 , 82 ]. Matrimid ® MMMs based on MOFs, such as Cu-414′-BPY-HFS, MIL-53, NH 2 -MIL-53(Al), NH 2 -MIL-101(Al), TKL-107 and FeBTC, led to a maximum hydrogen permeability of 20.3 Barrer and H 2 /CO 2 selectivity of 2.6, which are comparable to the results already obtained for pristine Matrimid ® .…”

Magnetically Aligned and Enriched Pathways of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework 8 in Matrimid Mixed Matrix Membranes for Enhanced CO2 Permeability

“…Besides the size and shape of ZIF−8, catalytic and magnetic properties can be introduced to the MOF by adding nanoparticles to the synthesis mixture, which extends the field of application of ZIF−8 [ 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Pure ZIF−8 membranes on porous supports and ZIF−8 based MMMs have demonstrated the potential of ZIF−8 for gas separation applications, by means of relatively high selectivity and permeability [ 8 , 13 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Even membranes of single crystal ZIF−8 structures have been reported [ 25 ].…”