Zeolitic imidazolate framework/graphene oxide hybrid nanosheets as seeds for the growth of ultrathin molecular sieving membranes

A defect-free zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)/graphene oxide (GO) membrane with a thickness of 100nm was prepared using two-dimensional (2D) ZIF-8/GO hybrid nanosheets as seeds. Hybrid nanosheets with a suitable amount of ZIF-8 nanocrystals were essential for producing a uniform seeding layer that facilitates fast crystal intergrowth during membrane formation. Moreover, the seeding layer acts as a barrier between two different synthesis solutions, and self-limits crystal growth and effectively eliminates defects during the contra-diffusion process. The resulting ultrathin membranes show excellent molecular sieving gas separation properties, such as with a high CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 7.0. This 2D nano-hybrid seeding strategy can be readily extended to the fabrication of other defect-free and ultrathin MOF or zeolite molecular sieving membranes for a wide range of separation applications.