Sun, C;
Barton, M;
Pask, CM;
Edokali, M;
Yang, L;
Britton, AJ;
Micklethwaite, S;
... Collins, SM; + view all
(2023)
Droplet-based millifluidic synthesis of a proton-conducting sulfonate metal–organic framework.
Chemical Engineering Journal
, 474
, Article 145892. 10.1016/j.cej.2023.145892.
(In press).
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Abstract
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising candidate materials for proton exchange membranes (PEMs), due to the control of proton transport enabled by functional groups and the structural order within the MOFs. In this work, we report a millifluidic approach for the synthesis of a MOF incorporating both sulfonate and amine groups, termed Cu-SAT, which exhibits a high proton conductivity. The fouling-free multiphase flow reactor synthesis was operated for more than 5 h with no reduction in yield or change in the particle size distribution, demonstrating a sustained space–time yield up to 131.7 kg m−3 day−1 with consistent particle quality. Reaction yield and particle size were controllably tuned by the adjustment of reaction parameters, such as residence/reaction time, temperature, and reagent concentration. The reaction yields from the flow reactor were 10–20% higher than those of corresponding batch syntheses, indicating improved mass and heat transfer in flow. A systematic exploration of synthetic parameters using a factorial design of experiments approach revealed the key correlations between the process parameters and yields and particle size distributions. The proton conductivity of the synthesized Cu-SAT MOF was evaluated in a mixed matrix membrane model PEM with polyvinylpyrrolidone and polyvinylidene fluoride polymers, exhibiting a promising composite conductivity of 1.34 ± 0.05 mS cm−1 at 353 K and 95% relative humidity (RH).
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Droplet-based millifluidic synthesis of a proton-conducting sulfonate metal–organic framework |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cej.2023.145892 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.145892 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Metal–organic framework, Droplet-based Millifluidic Synthesis, Particle size control, Process model, Proton exchange membranes |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10177600 |
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