High-Flux ZIF-8 Membranes on ZnO-Coated Supports for Propane/Propylene Separation

Anil Ronte, Phadindra Wagle, Ghader Mahmodi, Mounika Chevula, Shailesh Dangwal, Mohammad Reza Saeb, Jong Suk Lee, David N. McIlroy, Seok Jhin Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Zeolitic-imidazolate framework ZIF-8, a subclass of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with sodalite topology, has been a promising candidate for gas separation applications. Nevertheless, fabricating a high-flux propylene-selective ZIF-8 membrane is still challenging owing to the intrinsic crystalline nature of ZIF-8. In this study, an effective vapor-phase technique has been used to synthesize thin ZIF-8 membranes. ZnO was coated on anodic alumina oxide (AAO) supports via atomic layer deposition (ALD). The ZnO layer was vapor-phase treated with 2-methyl imidazole, which converted the ZnO layer to ZIF-8. The vapor-phase synthesized ZIF-8 membranes were evaluated for propylene/propane separation. With a ZIF-8 layer of ∼400 nm thickness, a high propylene/propane separation factor of 58 was obtained, concomitant with a high propylene permeance of 3.6 × 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1. It was found that the vapor-phase solvent-free synthesis minimized the number of chemicals needed to fabricate a thin, highly permeable, and propylene-selective ZIF-8 membrane.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8456-8464
Number of pages9
JournalEnergy and Fuels
Volume37
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 15 2023
Externally publishedYes

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by Oklahoma State University. The authors would like to thank Pamela Reynolds from Oklahoma State University for editing this manuscript.

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