Designable features of metal-organic frameworks for diverse gas separation membranes

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising membrane materials for gas separation owing to their tunable pore structures, versatile chemical functionalities, and structural diversity. The ability to precisely control pore apertures, introduce specific functional groups, and integrate MOFs with complementary materials provides unique opportunities to regulate gas sorption and diffusion behavior. These characteristics enable MOFs to overcome the limitations of conventional membrane materials and achieve enhanced separation performance. This review summarizes recent advances in MOF-based gas separation membranes, with particular emphasis on pore size engineering, functional group engineering, and hybridization strategies. The effects of these approaches on molecular sieving, adsorption selectivity, and interfacial compatibility are discussed through representative studies. In addition, recent progress in H 2 , CO 2 , olefin/paraffin, and O 2 /N 2 separations is highlighted to demonstrate the versatility of MOFs across diverse gas separation applications. Overall, the exceptional tunability and design flexibility of MOFs make them attractive platforms for the development of next-generation high-performance gas separation membranes.