(376g) Precision Construction of MOF-Based Membranes for Sub-Nanometer Molecular and Ion Selective Separation

As is known to all, the membrane separation technology has been gaining extensive attention in the energy and environment fields of carbon capture, biomass fuel and energy storage, owning the advantages of simple operation, high separation efficiency and low carbon footprint. The membrane materials, as the core of membrane separation technology, determine the separation performance and application area of membrane technology. To date, large amount of advanced membrane materials have been developed and utilized around different separation systems and separation requirements, however, research for sub-nanometer acale molecule and ion separation is slow-moving due to the similar physicochemical properties of the separation targets. To alleviate this dilemma, by virtue of diverse preparation strategies, optimizable nanostructure nanochannels, and rich confined microenvironments, advanced metal-organic framework materials (MOFs) have attracted the attention of researchers. In this work, convective circulation and confined growth were proposed to precisely design and construct continuous MOF confined sub-nanometer scale channels and investigate the efficient separation performancee of MOF-based membranes. Besides, to suppress the structural defects caused by the flexible skeleton, a molecular induction strategy was developed to precisely regulate the MOF pore size structure and further enhance the sieving ability of MOF-based membranes. In addition, by comparing the performance of MOF-based membranes with different window sizes and pore properties, the conformational relationship between the structure and performance of MOF was revealed. These works demonstrated the great potential of advanced MOF-based membranes in the field of sub-nanometer scale molecular and ion separations, and promote the further development of membrane separation technology.