A Review on Polymer Precursors of Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Olefin/Paraffin Separation

Structure-Transport Relationships of Water-Organic Solvent Co-transport in Carbon Molecular Sieve (CMS) Membranes

We explore the effects of the carbon molecular sieve (CMS) microstructure on the separation performance and transport mechanism of water-organic mixtures. Specifically, we utilize PIM-1 dense films and integrally skinned asymmetric hollow fiber membranes as polymer precursors for the CMS materials. The PIM-1 membranes were pyrolyzed under several different pyrolysis atmospheres (argon, carbon dioxide, and diluted hydrogen gas) and at multiple pyrolysis temperatures. Detailed gas physisorption measurements reveal that membranes pyrolyzed under 4% H2 and CO2 had broadened ultramicropore distributions (pore diameter <7 Å) compared to Ar pyrolysis, and pyrolysis under CO2 increased ultramicropore volume and broadened micropore distributions at increased pyrolysis temperatures. Gravimetric water and p-xylene sorption and diffusion measurements reveal that the PIM-1-derived CMS materials are more hydrophilic than other CMS materials that have been previously studied, which leads to sorption-diffusion estimations showing water-selective permeation. Water permeation in the vapor phase, pervaporation, and liquid-phase hydraulic permeation reveal that the isobaric permeation modes (vapor permeation and pervaporation) are reasonably well predicted by the sorption-diffusion model, whereas the hydraulic permeation mode is significantly underpredicted (>250×). Conversely, the permeation of p-xylene is well predicted by the sorption-diffusion model in all cases. The collection of pore size analysis, vapor sorption and diffusion, and permeation in different modalities creates a picture of a combined transport mechanism in which water-under high transmembrane pressures-permeates via a Poiseuille-style mechanism, whereas p-xylene solutes in the mixture permeate via sorption-diffusion.

Impact of Compression on the Textural and Structural Properties of CPO-27(Ni)

The employment of metal-organic frameworks in powder form is undesirable from an industrial perspective due to process and safety issues. This work is devoted to evaluating the impact of compression on the textural and structural properties of CPO-27(Ni). For this purpose, CPO-27(Ni) was synthesized under hydrosolvothermal conditions and characterized. Then, the resulting powder was compressed into binderless pellets using variable compression forces ranging from 5-90 kN (37-678 MPa) and characterized by means of nitrogen adsorption/desorption, thermogravimetric analysis and powder X-ray diffraction to evaluate textural, thermal and structural changes. Both textural and structural properties decreased with increasing compression force. Thermal stability was impacted in pellets compressed at forces over 70 kN. CPO-27(Ni) pelletized at 5, 8 and 10 kN, and retained more than 94% of its initial textural properties, while a loss of about one-third of the textural property was observed for the two most compressed samples (70 and 90 kN) compared to the starting powder.

Metal-Induced Aminosilica Rigidity Improves Highly Permeable Microporous Membranes via Different Types of Pendant Precursors

In this study, nickel-doped aminosilica membranes containing pendant groups were prepared with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), trimethoxy[3-(methylamino)propyl]silane (MAPTS), 3 N,N-dimethyl aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (DAPTMS), N-[3-(trimethoxysilylpropyl]ethylene diamine (TMSPED), and 1-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl] urea (TMSPU). Differences in the structures of terminal amine ligands significantly contributed to the formation of a coordinated structural assembly. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N₂ adsorption isotherms revealed that short and rigid pendant amino groups successfully coordinated with nickel to produce subnanopores in the membranes, while an ion-exchange interaction was suggested for longer and sterically hindered aminosilica precursors. Moreover, the basicity of amine precursors affected the affinity of ligands for the development of a coordinated network. A pristine aminosilica membrane showed low levels of H₂ permeance that range from 0.1 to 0.5 × 10^-6 mol m^-2 s^-1 Pa^-1 with a H₂/N₂ permeance ratio that ranges from 15 to 100. On the contrary, nickel coordination increased the H₂ permeance to 0.1-3.0 × 10^-6 mol m^-2 s^-1 Pa^-1 with H₂/N₂ permeance ratios that range from 10 to 68, which indicates the formation of a microporous structure and enlargement of pore sizes. The strong level of coordination affinity between nickel ions and amine groups induced rearrangement of the flexible pendant chain into a more rigid structure.

Application of Metal–Organic Framework in Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetes

Diabetes-related chronic wounds are often accompanied by a poor wound-healing environment such as high glucose, recurrent infections, and inflammation, and standard wound treatments are fairly limited in their ability to heal these wounds. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been developed to improve therapeutic outcomes due to their ease of engineering, surface functionalization, and therapeutic properties. In this review, we summarize the different synthesis methods of MOFs and conduct a comprehensive review of the latest research progress of MOFs in the treatment of diabetes and its wounds. State-of-the-art in vivo oral hypoglycemic strategies and the in vitro diagnosis of diabetes are enumerated and different antimicrobial strategies (including physical contact, oxidative stress, photothermal, and related ions or ligands) and provascular strategies for the treatment of diabetic wounds are compared. It focuses on the connections and differences between different applications of MOFs as well as possible directions for improvement. Finally, the potential toxicity of MOFs is also an issue that we cannot ignore.

Analysis of Influencing Factors on the Gas Separation Performance of Carbon Molecular Sieve Membrane Using Machine Learning Technique

Gas separation performance of the carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane is influenced by multiple factors including the microstructural characteristics of carbon and gas properties. In this work, the support vector regression (SVR) method as a machine learning technique was applied to the correlation between the gas separation performance, the multiple membrane structure, and gas characteristic factors of the self-manufactured CMS membrane. A simple quantitative index based on the Robeson’s upper bound line, which indicated the gas permeability and selectivity simultaneously, was proposed to measure the gas separation performance of CMS membrane. Based on the calculation results, the inferred key factors affecting the gas permeability of CMS membrane were the fractional free volume (FFV) of the precursor, the average interlayer spacing of graphite-like carbon sheet, and the final carbonization temperature. Moreover, the most influential factors for the gas separation performance were supposed to be the two structural factors of precursor influencing the porosity of CMS membrane, the carbon residue and the FFV, and the ratio of the gas kinetic diameters. The results would be helpful to the structural optimization and the separation performance improvement of CMS membrane.

Tailoring the Stabilization and Pyrolysis Processes of Carbon Molecular Sieve Membrane Derived from Polyacrylonitrile for Ethylene/Ethane Separation

For ethylene/ethane separation, a CMS (carbon molecular sieve) membrane was developed with a PAN (polyacrylonitrile) polymer precursor on an alumina support. To provide an excellent thermal property to PAN precursor prior to the pyrolysis, the stabilization as a pre-treatment process was carried out. Tuning the stabilization condition was very important to successfully preparing the CMS membrane derived from the PAN precursor. The stabilization and pyrolysis processes for the PAN precursor were finely tuned, and optimized in terms of stabilization temperature and time, as well as pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, and soaking time. The PAN stabilized at >250 °C showed improved thermal stability and carbon yield. The CMS membrane derived from stabilized PAN showed reasonable separation performance for ethylene permeance (0.71 GPU) and ethylene/ethane selectivity (7.62), respectively. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature and soaking time gave rise to an increase in the gas permeance, and a reduction in the membrane selectivity. This trend was opposite to that for the CMS membranes derived from other polymer precursors. The optimized separation performance (ethylene permeance of 2.97 GPU and ethylene/ethane selectivity of 7.25) could be achieved at the pyrolysis temperature of 650 °C with a soaking time of 1 h. The separation performance of the CMS membrane derived from the PAN precursor was comparable to that of other polymer precursors, and surpassed them regarding the upper bound trade off.