On the Better Understanding of the Surprisingly High Performance of Metal-Organic Framework-Based Mixed-Matrix Membranes Using the Example of UiO-66 and Matrimid.

Metal-organic frameworks feature a certain framework flexibility, mainly due to a linker mobility inside the lattice. The latter is responsible for effects like breathing or gate-opening, thus making predictions of the sorption and diffusion behavior quite difficult. Permeation measurements on supported UiO-66 membranes at low temperatures and on polymer-coated UiO-66 membrane layers as well as 2H NMR line shape studies and nitrogen sorption measurements of UiO-66 with deuterated linkers in Matrimid as mixed-matrix membranes (MMM) indicate that the 2-site 180° flips (π-flips) of the aromatic ring are hindered by the presence of (i) the surrounding polymer Matrimid and (ii) residual solvent molecules, thus giving profound insights into the molecular understanding of gas transport through metal-organic framework-based MMMs.