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Materials

MOF Membranes Stand Up To Water

Composites: Polymer-MOF blends retain strength and ammonia uptake capacity even after prolonged exposure to high humidity

by Mitch Jacoby
February 8, 2016 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 94, Issue 6

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Credit: Jared B. DeCoste/ECBC
The structure (micrograph) and ammonia capacity of poly(vinylidene difluoride)-HKUST-1 membranes (2.5-cm square sample, blue), are unaffected by high levels of humidity.
Shown here is a micrograph of a membrane made from a MOF-modified polymer .
Credit: Jared B. DeCoste/ECBC
The structure (micrograph) and ammonia capacity of poly(vinylidene difluoride)-HKUST-1 membranes (2.5-cm square sample, blue), are unaffected by high levels of humidity.

The impressive capacity of various metal-organic framework (MOF) compounds to adsorb gases—especially toxic gases such as ammonia—has raised interest in these porous solids for use as gas-mask filtration materials. Filter materials are typically used as powders held in a canister fitted to the front of gas masks. But gas-mask designers aim to do away with the obtrusive canister, favoring instead a streamlined design in which the mask and filter are integrated into a low-profile unit. That design calls for making easily processable MOF membranes, which has been challenging. A team led by Jared B. DeCoste of the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Seth M. Cohen of the University of California, San Diego, reports success in making robust poly(vinylidene difluoride)-HKUST-1 membranes (Chem. Sci. 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c5sc04368a). HKUST-1 is a copper-based MOF, in which paddle-wheel Cu dimers are linked by benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate units. High levels of humidity decompose powdered forms of HKUST-1, lowering gas-uptake capacity. In contrast, HKUST-1-polymer membranes retained their mechanical stability and theoretical ammonia capacities even after a monthlong exposure to 90% relative humidity.

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