Designing Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) Membranes for Isomer Separation

Abstract Membrane‐based separation has the merit of low carbon footprint. In this study, the pore size of metal–organic framework (MOF) membranes is rationally designed for discriminating various pairs of hydrocarbon isomers. Specifically, Zr‐MOF UiO‐66 (UiO stands for University of Oslo) membranes are developed for separating p/o‐xylene due to their proper pore size. For n‐hexane/2‐methylpentane separation, the functional groups and proportion of the ligands in UiO‐66 are gradually adjusted to effectively regulate the pore size, and UiO‐66‐33Br membranes are constructed. In addition, relying on the utilization of ligands with shorter length, MOF‐801 membranes with smaller pore size are fabricated for n/i‐butane separation.