This review summarizes recent advances in the field of metal–organic framework (MOF)-based membranes with a special focus on their design strategies and applications for gas and liquid separations.

Rational design of intricate multicomponent reticular structures is often hindered by the lack of suitable blueprint nets. We established the merged-net approach, proffering optimal balance between designability and complexity, as a systematic solution for the rational assembly of multicomponent structures. In this work, by methodically mapping node-net relationships among 53 basic edge-transitive nets, we conceived a signature net map to identify merging net pairs, resulting in the enumeration of 53 merged nets. We developed a practical design algorithm and proposed more than 100 multicomponent metal-organic framework platforms. The effectiveness of this approach is commended by the successful synthesis of four classes of materials, which is based on merging three-periodic nets with the four possible net periodicities. The construction of multicomponent materials based on derived nets of merged nets highlights the potential of the merged-net approach in accelerating the discovery of intricate reticular materials.

In this work, a pre-designed Zr-based-MOF encompassing an organic linker with a redox active core is synthesized and its structure–property relationship as a supercapacitor electrode is investigated. An enhanced performance is revealed by the combination of this MOF's high porosity and redox core incorporation, which alters its double-layer and pseudocapacitance, respectively. An increase in the capacitance performance by a factor of two is achieved via post-synthetic structure rigidification using organic pillars.

A new method was developed for post-modification of porous aromatic framework-1 (PAF-1) with chloride and then amine groups confirmed by different characterizations such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Compared to PAF-1, the amine-functionalized PAF-1 (PAF-1-NH2) exhibits a 50% improvement in carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption capacity reaching 42 cm3·g-1 at room temperature and 1 bar, and the uptakes under CO2 concentration in air (4 kPa) and flue gas (150 kPa) also greatly increase. The column breakthrough experiments showed that PAF-1-NH2 can separate CO2 from a simulated flue gas of CO2/N2 (15:85, v/v) indicating its potential applications in post-combustion systems.