Simultaneous spray self-assembly of highly loaded ZIF-8-PDMS nanohybrid membranes exhibiting exceptionally high biobutanol-permselective pervaporation

Preparation of MFI zeolite membranes on coarse macropore stainless steel hollow fibers for the recovery of bioalcohols

Hydrophobic MFI zeolite membranes are considered suitable for the recovery of bioalcohols (bioethanol and biobutanol) from fermentation broths.

Layer-by-Layer Fabrication of High-Performance Polyamide/ZIF-8 Nanocomposite Membrane for Nanofiltration Applications

The conventional blending fabrication for thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes is to disperse porous fillers in aqueous/organic phases prior to interfacial polymerization, and the aggregation of fillers may lead to the significant decrease in membrane performance. To overcome this limitation, we proposed a novel layer-by-layer (LBL) fabrication to prepare a polyamide (PA)/ZIF-8 nanocomposite membrane with a multilayer structure: a porous substrate, a ZIF-8 interlayer, and a PA coating layer. The PA/ZIF-8 (LBL) membrane for nanofiltration applications was prepared by growing an interlayer of ZIF-8 nanoparticles on an ultrafiltration membrane through in situ growth and then coating it with an ultrathin PA layer through interfacial polymerization. The obtained PA/ZIF-8 (LBL) membrane exhibited both better permeance and selectivity than did the conventional PA/ZIF-8 TFN membrane because of the ZIF-8 in situ growth producing a ZIF-8 interlayer with more ZIF-8 nanoparticles but fewer aggregates. Compared with the pure PA membrane (the flux of 11.2 kg/m(2)/h and rejection of 99.6%) for dye removal, the obtained PA/ZIF-8 (LBL) membranes achieved a significant improvement in membrane permeance and selectivity. (Flux was up to 27.1 kg/m(2)/h, and the rejection reaches 99.8%.) This LBL fabrication is a promising methodology for other polymer nanocomposite membranes simultaneously having high permeance and good selectivity.

Hybrid membranes of metal-organic molecule nanocages for aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbon separation by pervaporation

Hybrid membranes composed of porous metal-organic molecule nanocages as fillers embedded in a hyperbranched polymer (Boltorn W3000) were fabricated, which exhibit excellent pervaporation separation performances towards aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbons. The unique nature of the molecule-based fillers and their good dispersion and compatibility in/with the polymer are responsible for the good membrane properties.

Recovery of acetone from aqueous solution by ZIF-7/PDMS mixed matrix membranes

Mixed matrix membrane containing ZIF-7 exhibits the excellent performance in the recovery of acetone from fermentation broths.

Designing superhydrophobic surfaces with SAM modification on hierarchical ZIF-8/polymer hybrid membranes for efficient bioalcohol pervaporation

Inspired by the superhydrophobic surface of lotus leafs, ZIF-8/PDMS membranes with micro- and nanoscaled structures were modified by SAMs. The as-prepared hierarchical hybrid membranes exhibited excellent performance for bioalcohol pervaporation.