Metal organic frameworks

Responsive nanocomposite metal-organic framework membranes for gas separation applications

Post-combustion carbon dioxide capture is a key process to achieving a reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. However, effective gas separation is a key stumbling block as current membranes are not stable enough to membrane poisons such as water, acids, sulphur or nitrogen oxides as are commonly found in power station flue gas streams. This severely restricts their applicability to existing coal-fired power plants due to the expense of regular membrane replacement and frequent plant downtime. 

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a new class of materials which exhibit excellent molecular sieving capabilities due to their well-defined microporous structure. Consisting of metal atoms or clusters linked into a network by organic molecules, MOFs have pore windows of 0.3-5nm in diameter and surface areas of several thousand square metres per gram. Interest in MOFs has been stimulated by findings that their structure could be influenced by changes in their chemical or physical environment, which could possibly be manipulated to produce self-protecting or regenerating membranes.

This project focuses on developing an optimal synthesis procedure for MOF films on porous supports, investigation of the separation performance of the developed membranes and analysis of the responsiveness of the MOF network to external stimuli. 

Researchers: Con Dimitrakakis, Richelle Lyndon and Bradley Ladewig