Enhanced C₃H₆/C₃H₈ Separation via Polymer-Coordinated Heterogeneous ZIF-8 Structures
발표자
정호진 (부경대학교)
연구책임자
조계용 (부경대학교)
초록
내용
In this study, we present a novel polymer-coordinated metal–organic framework, heterogeneous ZIF-8 (hZIF-8), engineered for high-performance C₃H₆/C₃H₈ molecular sieving. The hZIF-8 is synthesized via a Lewis acid-catalyzed cationic ring-opening polymerization of tetrahydrofuran (THF), yielding polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) chains that coordinate with Zn²⁺ ions during ZIF-8 crystallization. This in situ coordination leads to a hybrid architecture comprising nanocrystalline ZIF-8 domains embedded within an amorphous polymer matrix. The incorporation of PTMEG effectively restricts the dynamic linker swing motion inherent to ZIF-8, thereby reducing the aperture size and enhancing molecular sieving selectivity. Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) fabricated with hZIF-8 exhibit significantly enhanced C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separation performance, achieving a selectivity of 75.5 and a permeability of 17.4 Barrer at 30 wt% filler loading—representing improvements of 468% and 135%, respectively, compared to conventional ZIF-8-based MMMs. The intrinsic selectivity of hZIF-8 was extrapolated to be approximately 3,700, nearly an order of magnitude greater than that of pristine ZIF-8. These results highlight polymer coordination as a powerful strategy for tuning molecular sieving behavior in MOFs, offering promising avenues for advancing membrane-based hydrocarbon separations