Science · Nature, 2026
Making MOF membranes at industrial scale
A membrane that keeps the MOF’s selectivity and can be made in rolls.
The question
Can a membrane keep the selectivity of a MOF and still be made in rolls that industry can use?
What was done
A merged-phase approach fuses MOFs and polymers into a single pseudo-continuous phase, giving a membrane that can be processed at scale and approaches the performance of pure MOF membranes.
What the paper reports
Reported results include continuous membrane rolls made by an industrial roll-to-roll process, polymer-grade propylene produced in a single separation step, and stable operation over 150 days, as described by KAUST and HKUST (Guangzhou). The paper also reports performance in carbon capture and hydrogen purification.
What remains open
These are reported laboratory and pilot-scale results. Cost and energy figures rest on modeling and need demonstration in an operating plant.
- Paper
- Song, S.; Fan, D.; Jia, X.; Zhou, Z.; Diaz-Marquez, A.; Liu, Z.; Huang, L.; Liu, S.; Wen, H.; Wang, Y.; Yao, D.; Maurin, G.; Han, Y.; Wang, H.; Eddaoudi, M.; Zhou, S. Scalable quasi-pure MOF membranes for energy-efficient gas separations. Nature 655, 925–931 (2026).
- Credited
- A team led by Sheng Zhou (HKUST Guangzhou), with Shizheng Song, Guillaume Maurin, Yu Han, Haihui Wang, Mohamed Eddaoudi and colleagues. Eddaoudi is a corresponding author.
- Link
- doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10655-9