Thermal Shielding and Vapor Transport Enhancement in MOF-Enabled Membranes for Membrane Distillation

Xiaolu Li; Shengming Yin; Jianhao Qian; Shahid Ali Khan; Wentao Shang; Jiawei Sun; Muhammad Usman Farid; Gang Lu; Guang Wang; Bhaskar Jyoti Deka; Jiaxin Guo; Yanguang Zhou; Sunwoo Kim; Junghwan Kim; Alicia Kyoungjin An

doi:10.1002/advs.202510323

Thermal Shielding and Vapor Transport Enhancement in MOF-Enabled Membranes for Membrane Distillation

Xiaolu Li (Co-first Author)
, Shengming Yin (Co-first Author)
, Jianhao Qian (Co-first Author)
, Shahid Ali Khan
, Wentao Shang
, Jiawei Sun
, Muhammad Usman Farid^*
, Gang Lu
, Guang Wang
, Bhaskar Jyoti Deka
, Jiaxin Guo
, Yanguang Zhou
, Sunwoo Kim
, Junghwan Kim
, Alicia Kyoungjin An^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Energy and Environment

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Desalination via membrane distillation (MD) powered by low-grade or waste heat is an emerging approach to energy-efficient water purification. However, conventional membranes suffer from significant conductive heat loss, which limits their thermal performance. Developing membranes with low thermal conductivity is crucial for enhancing thermal efficiency. This study introduces a metal–organic framework-enabled membrane (MEM) by embedding zeolite imidazole framework 8 (ZIF-8) onto Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PH) nanofiber. The MEM features a hierarchical porous structure, with an ultralow thermal conductivity (0.03 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹), thereby minimizing heat dissipation. It outperforms conventional membranes, demonstrating a vapor flux of 44.5 LMH and a thermal efficiency of 71.3%, improving MD performance. Multi-scale simulations reveal that the dual improvements in thermal shielding and vapor flow facilitation enable the MEM to effectively harness low-grade heat sources inaccessible to traditional membranes, positioning it as a promising solution for a sustainable water-energy-environment nexus. © 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH

Original language	English
Article number	e10323
Journal	Advanced Science
Volume	13
Issue number	6
Online published	16 Nov 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202510323
Publication status	Published - 30 Jan 2026

Funding

This work was supported by the General Research Fund (GRF) of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) under grant number 11209421 and 11218122, the RGC Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) under grant number RFS2223-1S04, and the HKUST-YONSEI Global Knowledge Network Award 2025.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Research Keywords

desalination
hierarchical pores
membrane distillation
thermal efficiency
ZIF-8

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

Access Output

10.1002/advs.202510323

Other Access Options

Check CityUHK Library

Permanent Link

Right click to copy link

Cite this

@article{0776e7565f4740f7b10821989c49038d,

title = "Thermal Shielding and Vapor Transport Enhancement in MOF-Enabled Membranes for Membrane Distillation",

abstract = "Desalination via membrane distillation (MD) powered by low-grade or waste heat is an emerging approach to energy-efficient water purification. However, conventional membranes suffer from significant conductive heat loss, which limits their thermal performance. Developing membranes with low thermal conductivity is crucial for enhancing thermal efficiency. This study introduces a metal–organic framework-enabled membrane (MEM) by embedding zeolite imidazole framework 8 (ZIF-8) onto Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PH) nanofiber. The MEM features a hierarchical porous structure, with an ultralow thermal conductivity (0.03 W m−1 K−1), thereby minimizing heat dissipation. It outperforms conventional membranes, demonstrating a vapor flux of 44.5 LMH and a thermal efficiency of 71.3\%, improving MD performance. Multi-scale simulations reveal that the dual improvements in thermal shielding and vapor flow facilitation enable the MEM to effectively harness low-grade heat sources inaccessible to traditional membranes, positioning it as a promising solution for a sustainable water-energy-environment nexus. {\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH",

keywords = "desalination, hierarchical pores, membrane distillation, thermal efficiency, ZIF-8",

author = "Xiaolu Li and Shengming Yin and Jianhao Qian and Khan, \{Shahid Ali\} and Wentao Shang and Jiawei Sun and Farid, \{Muhammad Usman\} and Gang Lu and Guang Wang and Deka, \{Bhaskar Jyoti\} and Jiaxin Guo and Yanguang Zhou and Sunwoo Kim and Junghwan Kim and An, \{Alicia Kyoungjin\}",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

day = "30",

doi = "10.1002/advs.202510323",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

journal = "Advanced Science",

issn = "2198-3844",

publisher = "Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH",

number = "6",

}

Thermal Shielding and Vapor Transport Enhancement in MOF-Enabled Membranes for Membrane Distillation. / Li, Xiaolu (Co-first Author); Yin, Shengming (Co-first Author); Qian, Jianhao (Co-first Author) et al.
In: Advanced Science, Vol. 13, No. 6, e10323, 30.01.2026.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Thermal Shielding and Vapor Transport Enhancement in MOF-Enabled Membranes for Membrane Distillation

AU - Li, Xiaolu

AU - Yin, Shengming

AU - Qian, Jianhao

AU - Khan, Shahid Ali

AU - Shang, Wentao

AU - Sun, Jiawei

AU - Farid, Muhammad Usman

AU - Lu, Gang

AU - Wang, Guang

AU - Deka, Bhaskar Jyoti

AU - Guo, Jiaxin

AU - Zhou, Yanguang

AU - Kim, Sunwoo

AU - Kim, Junghwan

AU - An, Alicia Kyoungjin

PY - 2026/1/30

Y1 - 2026/1/30

N2 - Desalination via membrane distillation (MD) powered by low-grade or waste heat is an emerging approach to energy-efficient water purification. However, conventional membranes suffer from significant conductive heat loss, which limits their thermal performance. Developing membranes with low thermal conductivity is crucial for enhancing thermal efficiency. This study introduces a metal–organic framework-enabled membrane (MEM) by embedding zeolite imidazole framework 8 (ZIF-8) onto Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PH) nanofiber. The MEM features a hierarchical porous structure, with an ultralow thermal conductivity (0.03 W m−1 K−1), thereby minimizing heat dissipation. It outperforms conventional membranes, demonstrating a vapor flux of 44.5 LMH and a thermal efficiency of 71.3%, improving MD performance. Multi-scale simulations reveal that the dual improvements in thermal shielding and vapor flow facilitation enable the MEM to effectively harness low-grade heat sources inaccessible to traditional membranes, positioning it as a promising solution for a sustainable water-energy-environment nexus. © 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH

AB - Desalination via membrane distillation (MD) powered by low-grade or waste heat is an emerging approach to energy-efficient water purification. However, conventional membranes suffer from significant conductive heat loss, which limits their thermal performance. Developing membranes with low thermal conductivity is crucial for enhancing thermal efficiency. This study introduces a metal–organic framework-enabled membrane (MEM) by embedding zeolite imidazole framework 8 (ZIF-8) onto Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PH) nanofiber. The MEM features a hierarchical porous structure, with an ultralow thermal conductivity (0.03 W m−1 K−1), thereby minimizing heat dissipation. It outperforms conventional membranes, demonstrating a vapor flux of 44.5 LMH and a thermal efficiency of 71.3%, improving MD performance. Multi-scale simulations reveal that the dual improvements in thermal shielding and vapor flow facilitation enable the MEM to effectively harness low-grade heat sources inaccessible to traditional membranes, positioning it as a promising solution for a sustainable water-energy-environment nexus. © 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH

KW - desalination

KW - hierarchical pores

KW - membrane distillation

KW - thermal efficiency

KW - ZIF-8

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021884648

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021884648#tab=impact

UR - https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001614647100001

U2 - 10.1002/advs.202510323

DO - 10.1002/advs.202510323

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 2198-3844

VL - 13

JO - Advanced Science

JF - Advanced Science

IS - 6

M1 - e10323

ER -

Thermal Shielding and Vapor Transport Enhancement in MOF-Enabled Membranes for Membrane Distillation

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

GRF: Omniphobic Nanofibrous Membrane with Bioi-nspired Nanoflower-on-nanoneedle Double Re-entrant Structure for Enhanced Performance in Membrane Distillation

RFS: Enhancing Membrane Distillation's Potential for Water Reuse and Zero Liquid Discharge: An Energy-efficient and Hypersaline-stable Membrane

GRF: Facile Fabrication of A Bioinspired Omniphobic-Slippery Membrane for Robust Membrane Distillation with Real Time Monitoring for Wetting, Fouling, and Scaling

IWA Regional membrane technology conference (IWA-RMTC) 2026

Cite this

Thermal Shielding and Vapor Transport Enhancement in MOF-Enabled Membranes for Membrane Distillation

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Projects

GRF: Omniphobic Nanofibrous Membrane with Bioi-nspired Nanoflower-on-nanoneedle Double Re-entrant Structure for Enhanced Performance in Membrane Distillation

RFS: Enhancing Membrane Distillation's Potential for Water Reuse and Zero Liquid Discharge: An Energy-efficient and Hypersaline-stable Membrane

GRF: Facile Fabrication of A Bioinspired Omniphobic-Slippery Membrane for Robust Membrane Distillation with Real Time Monitoring for Wetting, Fouling, and Scaling

Activities

IWA Regional membrane technology conference (IWA-RMTC) 2026

Cite this