Abstract:
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a new series of porous materials with some impressing physical and chemical properties such as ultrahigh porosity (up to 90% free volume) and enormous specific surface areas. MOFs show great potential applications in the field of separation, adsorption, catalysis, biotechnology and electronics. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are cylindrical molecules that consist of rolled-up sheets of single-layer carbon atoms (graphene). In this work, Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite membranes were fabricated and simultaneously modified by MOFs and CNTs. The physic-
co-chemical structures and separation properties of the as-synthesized membranes were measured by field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectoroscopy and pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol aqueous solutions. The results showed that MOFs and CNTs could efficiently change the structures and separation properties of the PVA composite membranes. The permeation flux of the modified PVA composite membranes increased while the separation selectivity decreased when the amount of MOFs increased. It is clear that a modified PVA composite membrane with excellent properties can be obtained when adding proper CNTs and MOFs amounts.