Metal-organic frameworks-membranes for energy intensive liquid separation

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) materials with tunable structures and functionalities have demonstrated great potential as promising membrane materials,and play a crucial role in various industrially important chemical, energy, and environmental processes. Due to their well-defined pore systems, unique chemicalversatility, and abundant chemical functionalities, MOFs have garnered interest for various energy intensive separation applications. Formulating them into structured configurations is a key step toward their scale up and successful implementation at the industrial level. This review focuses on the latest development on MOF-based membranes for liquid separations and highlights recent progress on design strategies, criteria for screening MOFs, fabrication methods, the most recent breakthrough in the areas of pervaporation, water treatment, and organic solvent nanofiltration. Additionally, this study also discusses the possible applications of MOF-based membranes in the removal of micropollutants, in decay processes and exhibiting antibiotic properties. The remaining challenges, prospects and guidance on the rational design and fabrication of high-performance MOF-based membranes and transferring technology from laboratory scale towards practical applications are discussed.