Separation of hydrogen from carbon dioxide for sustainable H₂ production and CO₂ capture still faces great challenges due to the smaller size of H₂ and higher condensability of CO₂. Herein, a high-performance benzimidazole-linked polymer (BILP) membrane for hydrogen separation was directly prepared on α-Al₂O₃ substrate through a facile interfacial polymerization approach at room temperature. The separation performance of the BILP membrane were regulated by controlling the reaction time and the microstructure was systematically characterized. Molecular simulations were performed to deep understand the separation mechanism in the BILP membrane. The best performance membrane displays an extraordinary mixed gas selectivity of 40 for H₂/CO₂ together with outstanding H₂ permeance of 250 gas permeation units (GPU) at 473 K, far exceeding the Robeson's upper bound. Besides, the membrane can withstand high temperature and pressure, and also shows good H₂/N₂ and H₂/CH₄ selectivity. The excellent separation performance, coupled with high temperature and pressure resistance and easy preparation, render BILP membranes great potential for economic H₂ purification, H₂ recovery, and natural gas treatment.

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Ceramic membranes have been increasingly employed in water treatment owing to their merits such as high-stability, anti-oxidation, long lifespan and environmental friendliness. The application of ceramic membranes mainly focuses on microfiltration and ultrafiltration processes, and some precise separation can be achieved by introducing novel porous materials with superior selectivity. Recently, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have developed a wide spectrum of applications in the fields of the environment, energy, water treatment and gas separation due to the diversity and tunable advantages of metal clusters and organic ligands. Although the issue of water stability in MOF materials inhibits the development of MOF membranes in water treatment, researchers still overcome many obstacles to advance the application of MOF membranes in water treatment processes. To the best of our knowledge, there is still a lack of a reviews on the development process and prospects of ceramic-based MOF membranes for water treatment. Therefore, in this review, we mainly summarize the fabrication method for ceramic-based MOF membranes and their application in water treatment, such as water/salt separation, pollutant separation, heavy metal separation, etc. Following this, based on the high structural, thermal and chemical stability of ceramic substrates, and the high controllability of MOF materials, the superiority and insufficient use of ceramic-based MOF membranes in the field of water treatment are critically discussed.@en

High permeable and selective membranes are expected to be a promising alternative for low cost and energy efficient CO₂ separation. However, the preparation and development of highly permeable and selective membranes are limited by the trade-off effect. Here, we prepared a stabilized high permeable and selective mixed matrix membrane based on the structural regulation of the NH₂-functionalized Co/ZIF-8 heterometallic nanoparticles (NH₂-Co/ZIF-8). The NH₂-Co/ZIF-8 can be homogeneously dispersed in the polymer via chelation of the ester group and the metal node in the methacrylate-terminated PEO and the acrylate-terminated PEO. The amphiphilic interaction between the polymer and NH₂-Co/ZIF-8 significantly increased the CO₂ solubility resulting in the boost of both CO₂ permeability and CO₂/N₂ selectivity. The best performance membrane exhibits a CO₂ permeability of 2916 Barrer and a CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 47, surpassing the Robeson's upper bond (2008) by a wide margin.

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