A one-dimensional material as a nano-scaffold and a pseudo-seed for facilitated growth of ultrathin, mechanically reinforced molecular sieving membranes.

A new pseudo-seeding and nano-scaffolding method was developed to synthesize thin ZIF-8 hybrid membranes (100-200 nm) with remarkable mechanical and structural stability and high H2 permeance (2.87 × 10-5 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1) and selectivity over CO2 (14), N2 (18), CH4 (35), C3H6 (52.4) and C3H8 (950.1).