Recent research efforts have demonstrated excellent potential of metal-organic framework (MOF)/polymer nanocomposite membranes for water purification. Fundamental studies on the specific roles of MOFs inside polymeric matrix are of great importance for the rational design of high-performance nanocomposite membranes. Still, much remains unclear about the exact influence of MOFs on the water and ion transport properties through MOF/polymer membranes. This is because it has been extremely difficult to characterize the ultrathin and heterogeneous polyamide membranes, the most popular water purification material, complicating reasonable analyses throughout the previous studies on MOF/polymer water purification membranes. Herein, we used crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (XLPEGDA) as a base polymeric matrix to better understand the water and ion transport properties through MOF/polymer membranes. In contrast to the conventionally used polyamide matrix, XLPEGDA enabled us to precisely characterize the influences of incorporated MOFs on the polymer properties and water/ion transport behavior. Microimaging techniques were also firstly introduced to provide a microscopic view of the permeated water and ion distributions inside the MOF/XLPEGDA membranes. Our results reveal that MOFs could actually act as a highly water-permselective channel with judicious selection of polymeric matrix, emphasizing the importance of not only the interfacial gap between MOF/polymer but optimizing the microstructure of MOFs.

Understanding water and ion transport properties through MOF/polymer nanocomposite membranes

2019 Spring National Meeting

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