Coordination-driven in situ self-assembly strategy for the preparation of metal-organic framework hybrid membranes

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as porous solids of a superior type for the fabrication of membranes. However, it is still challenging to prepare a uniformly dispersed robust MOF hybrid membrane. Herein, we propose a simple and powerful strategy, namely, coordination-driven in situ self-assembly, for the fabrication of MOF hybrid membranes. On the basis of the coordination interactions between metal ions and ligands and/or the functional groups of the organic polymer, this method was confirmed to be feasible for the production of a stable membrane with greatly improved MOF-particle dispersion in and compatibility with the polymer, thus providing outstanding separation ability. As an experimental proof of concept, a high-quality ZIF-8/PSS membrane was fabricated that showed excellent performance in the nanofiltration and separation of dyes from water.