Preparation of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Membranes and Their Membrane Performance

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 10340

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Guest Editor
Guangzhou Key Laboratory for New Energy and Green Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Interests: metal‒organic frameworks; gas separation; molecular simulation; machine learning
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Organic–inorganic hybrid membranes with an interpenetrating porosity, tunable chemical structures and excellent performance have attracted tremendous attention, recently having experienced increasing interests in delivering advanced organic–inorganic hybrid membranes for energy utilization and environmental remediation. This Special Issue focuses on various organic–inorganic hybrid membranes, including metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), mixed matrix polymeric membrane, porous metal/metal oxide/graphene hybrid membranes, etc.

Conventional techniques of separation, such as the desalination of sea water, are highly energy-intensive; however, as an alternative, the membrane separation technique is technically feasible and economically viable with the advantages of an easy operation, low cost and high efficiency. In these techniques, it is critically important to design and develop the novel high-performance separation membranes. Despite the organic–inorganic hybrid membranes being up-and-coming candidates in separation applications, more synthesis strategies and microscopic mechanisms are required to investigate the promising organic–inorganic hybrid membranes with a high efficiency and low cost for the energy and environmental fields.

This Special Issue will provide a comprehensive overview on recent advances in designing and advancing organic–inorganic hybrid membranes for gas separation, catalysis and thermal energy storage, etc. The selected articles will provide a state-of-the-art overview of the progress over the last years in the design, synthesis, characterization, simulation, and application of organic–inorganic hybrid membranes.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Development and characterization of new organic–inorganic hybrid membranes;
  • Calculation and simulation of the structure–property relationships of organic–inorganic hybrid membranes;
  • Incorporation of different inorganic substances in the polymeric matrix, such as metal/metal oxide/sulfide/phosphide, graphene, etc.;
  • Studying the potential applications of organic–inorganic hybrid membranes:
  • Separation and purification of gases or liquids;
  • Storage of gases (H2, CO2, CH4, etc.);
  • Desalination of sea water;
  • Thermal energy storage;
  • Lithium battery membrane.

Prof. Dr. Zhiwei Qiao
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • organic–inorganic hybrid membranes
  • metal–organic framework membranes
  • mixed matrix polymeric membrane
  • separation of gases or liquids
  • simulation of membranes

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 5103 KiB  
Article
Combining Computational Screening and Machine Learning to Predict Metal–Organic Framework Adsorbents and Membranes for Removing CH4 or H2 from Air
by Huilin Li, Cuimiao Wang, Yue Zeng, Dong Li, Yaling Yan, Xin Zhu and Zhiwei Qiao
Membranes 2022, 12(9), 830; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12090830 - 25 Aug 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2166
Abstract
Separating and capturing small amounts of CH4 or H2 from a mixture of gases, such as coal mine spent air, at a large scale remains a great challenge. We used large-scale computational screening and machine learning (ML) to simulate and explore [...] Read more.
Separating and capturing small amounts of CH4 or H2 from a mixture of gases, such as coal mine spent air, at a large scale remains a great challenge. We used large-scale computational screening and machine learning (ML) to simulate and explore the adsorption, diffusion, and permeation properties of 6013 computation-ready experimental metal–organic framework (MOF) adsorbents and MOF membranes (MOFMs) for capturing clean energy gases (CH4 and H2) in air. First, we modeled the relationships between the adsorption and the MOF membrane performance indicators and their characteristic descriptors. Among three ML algorithms, the random forest was found to have the best prediction efficiency for two systems (CH4/(O2 + N2) and H2/(O2 + N2)). Then, the algorithm was further applied to quantitatively analyze the relative importance values of seven MOF descriptors for five performance metrics of the two systems. Furthermore, the 20 best MOFs were also selected. Finally, the commonalities between the high-performance MOFs were analyzed, leading to three types of material design principles: tuned topology, alternative metal nodes, and organic linkers. As a result, this study provides microscopic insights into the capture of trace amounts of CH4 or H2 from air for applications involving coal mine spent air and hydrogen leakage. Full article
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12 pages, 3735 KiB  
Article
Thin-Film Composite Membranes with a Carbon Nanotube Interlayer for Organic Solvent Nanofiltration
by Mingjia Liao, Yun Zhu, Genghao Gong and Lei Qiao
Membranes 2022, 12(8), 817; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12080817 - 22 Aug 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1782
Abstract
Compared to the traditional chemical-crosslinking-based polymer, the porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrate is considered to be an excellent support for the fabrication of thin-film composite (TFC) organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes. However, the low surface energy and chemical inertness of PTFE membranes presented major [...] Read more.
Compared to the traditional chemical-crosslinking-based polymer, the porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrate is considered to be an excellent support for the fabrication of thin-film composite (TFC) organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes. However, the low surface energy and chemical inertness of PTFE membranes presented major challenges for fabricating a polyamide active layer on its surface via interfacial polymerization (IP). In this study, a triple-layered TFC OSN membrane was fabricated via IP, which consisted of a PA top layer on a carbon nanotube (CNT) interlayer covering the macroporous PTFE substrate. The defect-free formation and cross-linking degree of the PA layer can be improved by controlling the CNT deposition amount to achieve a good OSN performance. This new TFC OSN membrane exhibited a high dye rejection (the rejection of Bright blue B > 97%) and a moderate and stable methanol permeated flux of approximately 8.0 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. Moreover, this TFC OSN membrane also exhibited an excellent solvent resistance to various organic solvents and long-term stability during a continuous OSN process. Full article
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12 pages, 3167 KiB  
Article
Large-Scale Screening and Machine Learning for Metal–Organic Framework Membranes to Capture CO2 from Flue Gas
by Yizhen Situ, Xueying Yuan, Xiangning Bai, Shuhua Li, Hong Liang, Xin Zhu, Bangfen Wang and Zhiwei Qiao
Membranes 2022, 12(7), 700; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070700 - 11 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2489
Abstract
To combat global warming, as an energy-saving technology, membrane separation can be applied to capture CO2 from flue gas. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with characteristics like high porosity have great potential as membrane materials for gas mixture separation. In this work, through a [...] Read more.
To combat global warming, as an energy-saving technology, membrane separation can be applied to capture CO2 from flue gas. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with characteristics like high porosity have great potential as membrane materials for gas mixture separation. In this work, through a combination of grand canonical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations, the permeability of three gases (CO2, N2, and O2) was calculated and estimated in 6013 computation–ready experimental MOF membranes (CoRE–MOFMs). Then, the relationship between structural descriptors and permeance performance, and the importance of available permeance area to permeance performance of gas molecules with smaller kinetic diameters were found by univariate analysis. Furthermore, comparing the prediction accuracy of seven classification machine learning algorithms, XGBoost was selected to analyze the order of importance of six structural descriptors to permeance performance, through which the conclusion of the univariate analysis was demonstrated one more time. Finally, seven promising CoRE-MOFMs were selected, and their structural characteristics were analyzed. This work provides explicit directions and powerful guidelines to experimenters to accelerate the research on membrane separation for the purification of flue gas. Full article
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14 pages, 2038 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Effects of Different Sacrificial Hydrogen Bonds on Performance of Polyurethane/Graphene Oxide Membrane
by Wen Fu, Li Wang, Zhuohang Huang, Xiaoyan Huang, Zhijin Su, Yixing Liang, Zhitin Gao and Qingyu Pan
Membranes 2022, 12(5), 517; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12050517 - 13 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1726
Abstract
Processing robust mechanical properties is important for elastomeric materials. In this work, different molecular weights of polyethylene glycols (PEG) were used to modify graphene oxide (GO) in order to study the relationship between the number of hydrogen bonds and the properties of the [...] Read more.
Processing robust mechanical properties is important for elastomeric materials. In this work, different molecular weights of polyethylene glycols (PEG) were used to modify graphene oxide (GO) in order to study the relationship between the number of hydrogen bonds and the properties of the polyurethane/graphene oxide membrane. The fact of PEG was successfully grafted onto the surface of GO was certified by Fourier transform infrared spectra, Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The graft ratio was indicated by thermogravimetric analysis. The presence of hydrogen bonds in PUR/MGO composites membrane was proved by the cyclic loading-unloading test and stress relaxation test. The thermal stability and low-temperature resistance performance of PUR/MGO had been improved compared with PUR/GO. When the molecular weight of PEG grafted on the surface of GO was 600, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the composite membrane were optimal. The reason for the improvement of physical and mechanical properties was that the dispersion of filler in the rubber matrix and the compatibility between filler and rubber had been improved. Full article
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18 pages, 5405 KiB  
Article
Discharge Characteristics, Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation Mechanism and Properties of ZrO2 Membranes in K2ZrF6 Electrolyte
by Li Wang, Wen Fu, Guangkun Yi, Ziyang Chen, Zhitin Gao and Qingyu Pan
Membranes 2022, 12(5), 516; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12050516 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1598
Abstract
ZrO2 was coated on AZ31 magnesium alloy substrate by plasma electrolytic oxidation with K2ZrF6 and NaH2PO4 electrolytes. The discharge characteristics and variation in active species during the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process were studied by optical [...] Read more.
ZrO2 was coated on AZ31 magnesium alloy substrate by plasma electrolytic oxidation with K2ZrF6 and NaH2PO4 electrolytes. The discharge characteristics and variation in active species during the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process were studied by optical emission spectroscopy. The surface morphology and element composition of the membranes were observed by scanning electron microscope. The ion transfer of the substrate was studied by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The phase composition and corrosion characteristics of the PEO membranes were examined with XRD and an electrochemical workstation, respectively. The heat and mass transfer models during the PEO process were introduced. The contributions of ions to the membranes and active species were also analyzed. The results indicated that the ion transfer at different stages exhibits different tendencies. At the first and transition stages, the migration resistance of the ions was low and increased gradually. At the initial discharge stage, the migration resistance was the highest because the highest membrane growth rate occurred at this stage. At the later discharge stage, the migration resistance tends to be stable, which is ascribed to a dynamic equilibrium PEO membrane growth rate. The intensity of active species is related to the energy state of the working electrode’s surface. The higher the energy, the greater the probability that the active species will be excited to generate energy level transitions, and the higher the plasma concentration. Full article
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