Joint publication by Benjamin Reif et al. on novel gas separation membranes
Benjamin Reif et al. published a paper on the synthesis of supported ZIF-11 membranes. Such membranes are very promising for the important problem of separating gas mixtures. The open-access paper is a result of the collaboration between the groups of Malte Kaspereit, Martin Hartmann (ECRC) and Wilhelm Schwieger. The work investigates the influence of different support types and preparation techniques in membrane synthesis. Various ZIF-11 membranes were prepared successfully on symmetric and asymmetric stainless steel and asymmetric α-Al2O3 supports by multiple in-situ crystallization and seeding and secondary growth techniques. Gas separation experiments confirm the promising properties of the obtained ZIF-11 membranes. On the other hand, it is shown that cracks in the layers strongly affect the performance of the membranes.
The results underline that in the development of microporous membranes, the two research directions, development and optimization of novel synthesis procedures as well as efficient approaches for prevention and/or repair of membrane defects, are of equal relevance and should be addressed simultaneously. In this context, current work focuses on minimizing crack formation by nanoparticle seeding and more advanced seeding techniques.
The open-acess paper can be accessed here:
Benjamin Reif, Jan Somboonvong, Martin Hartmann, Malte Kaspereit, Wilhelm Schwieger, Synthesis of ZIF-11 Membranes. Membranes 11 (2021) 523.
DOI: 10.3390/membranes11070523