Polycrystalline rare-earth metal-organic framework membranes with in-situ healing ability for efficient alcohol dehydration

Because of their uniform yet tunable pore size and rich functionality, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted huge interests as membrane materials. However, the relatively weak stability limits their applications in liquid separation. Herein, we report the fabrication of polycrystalline rare-earth MOF membranes (Sm-DOBDC) supported on alumina hollow fiber, exhibiting excellent water stability. Using these membranes for the dehydration of 5 wt% water/ethanol feed solution at 323 K, a total flux of 786.4 ± 33.7 g m⁻² h⁻¹ and a 99.8 ± 0.2 wt% water concentration in the permeate can be achieved, with a high separation factor of above 9481. In addition, in-situ healing ability of this membrane is demonstrated by treating with spent reaction solution, shedding light on the practical applications of polycrystalline MOF membranes in liquid separation.