HKUST(GZ) Research on Scalable Quasi-pure MOF Membranes Featured in Nature
A study published in the science journal Nature on July 15 was conducted by a team led by Assistant Professor Sheng ZHOU from HKUST(GZ)'s Sustainable Energy and Environment Thrust.
The research, titled "Scalable quasi-pure MOF membranes for energy-efficient gas separations", reports a new kind of membrane architecture that is manufacturable at scale using industry-reliable solution-processing techniques, achieving separation performance approaching that of pure MOF membranes and fully realizing the intrinsic potential of MOF materials.
MOFs, or metal-organic frameworks, are porous crystalline materials with molecule-sized pores, making them highly promising for energy-efficient gas separation. The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists for their pioneering work in the creation of MOFs. MOF membranes offer great potential in reducing the energy penalties of energy-intensive gas separations. Deriving convenient scalable protocols is essential for translating MOF-based membranes into practical applications. This study addresses the long-standing gap between the performance and scalability of crystalline membranes for demanding molecular separations.
The research also included contributions from co-authors Zhihao LIU, Shuo LIU, and He WEN, all PhD students at HKUST(GZ). Other collaborators involved were Guillaume MAURIN from the University of Montpellier in France, Yu HAN from South China University of Technology, Haihui WANG from Tsinghua University, and Professor Mohamed EDDAOUDI from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, along with their respective teams.
The research originated in May 2024 when PhD student Shizheng SONG accidentally used SDBS (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate) instead of SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate), two different surfactants commonly used in materials synthesis, in synthesizing ZIF-67 nanosheets.
This unexpected substitution led to the formation of a novel (110) crystal orientation structure, which proved ideal for the challenging separation of propylene and propane molecules. This discovery addresses a longstanding issue in the petrochemical industry, which traditionally relies on energy-intensive distillation processes for gas separation.
Professor ZHOU, who was traveling at the time, encouraged SONG to further investigate the unexpected results. Within two weeks, SONG confirmed the unique properties of the new structure, which had never been synthesized before.
The team's innovation lies in a merged-phase approach that fuses MOFs and polymers into a single pseudo-continuous phase, endowing MOFs with polymer-like surface properties and enabling rheologically controlled flocculated networks even at extreme solid concentrations. In September 2025, the team successfully scaled up production to create continuous MOF membrane rolls, a first for continuous membrane manufacturing in this field.
Industrial tests showed the membranes maintained a propylene purity of over 99.5 percent for 150 days, meeting polymer-grade standards. The new approach reduces propylene purification costs by around 80 percent compared to traditional distillation methods. This method is not limited to propylene/propane separation but is also applicable to other gas separations, such as ethylene/ethane, CO₂ capture, and hydrogen purification.
Nature reviewers highlighted the potential of this discovery to drastically reduce energy consumption in industrial separation processes.
Professor ZHOU and SONG joined HKUST(GZ) in 2023, when the university was in its early stages. They played a key role in building the laboratory infrastructure from scratch, a process that Professor ZHOU believes will prove valuable in future research endeavors. Professor ZHOU has always emphasized the importance of understanding every step of the research process, a principle that has guided the team's approach.
Building on the foundation established by this work, the team plans to further explore industrial applications of their membrane technology, an effort that aligns with HKUST(GZ)'s mission to translate laboratory innovations into tangible societal impact.
