Ultrathin Films of Porous Metal-Organic Polyhedra for Gas Separation

Chemistry. 2020 Jan 2;26(1):143-147. doi: 10.1002/chem.201904141. Epub 2019 Dec 6.

Abstract

Ultrathin films of a robust RhII -based porous metal-organic polyhedra (MOP) have been obtained. Homogeneous and compact monolayer films (ca. 2.5 nm thick) were first formed at the air-water interface, deposited onto different substrates and characterized using spectroscopic methods, scanning transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. As a proof of concept, the gas separation performance of MOP-supported membranes has also been evaluated. Selective MOP ultrathin films (thickness ca. 60 nm) exhibit remarkable CO2 permeance and CO2 /N2 selectivity, demonstrating the great combined potential of MOP and Langmuir-based techniques in separation technologies.

Keywords: CO2 separation; Langmuir-Blodgett technique; atomic force microscopy; metal-organic polyhedra; scanning electron microscopy; thin films.