Cellulose nanofiber membrane modified with functionalized MIL-101 for enhanced hydrogen separation

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) are expected to be strong competitors in gas separation membranes. Nevertheless, the poor interaction between fillers and matrix is a major restriction to prepare MMMs with a higher separation performance. In this work, MIL-101(Cr) was functionalized with - NH2, -COOH, and benzenesulfonic acid (-PhSO3H) group and these functionalized MIL-101 particles were embedded in cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) to form MMMs. The interaction effect of functionalized MIL-101 with CNFs on the separation performance was discussed. After the adjustment of MIL-101-NH2 loading, the resulting MIL-101-NH2/CNF membrane with 5 wt% loading exhibited enhanced H-2 permeance of similar to 2.56 x 10(-7) mol m(-2) s(-1) Pa-1 with H-2/CO2 ideal selectivity of similar to 21.9.