LIST / MIT, a fruitful collaboration leading to a new class of functional materials

In the framework of its activities in advanced materials, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) has been working in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT – US) on the research project “Development of improved gas sensing surfaces - Initiated plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition of heterocyclic macrocycles” (SENSI).

As a concrete and innovative result, a new class of hyper-thin, dense and defect-free metal-organic covalent network (MOCN) coatings has been developed. In this context, knowledge dissemination is successfully ongoing: publication of a scientific article in the German scientific journal “Advanced Materials”, new publications currently being produced and last but not least, submission of a joint patent application.

When combining complementary & synergetic expertise generates innovation

SENSI is a one-year project that started in spring 2015 and was supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund, as part of its activities in the new Functional and Intelligent Materials and Surfaces domain.

Over the past years, LIST’s experts have developed specialist knowledge in the Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and characterization of metalloporphyrin-based coatings, while experts from the MIT have developed a widespread expertise in the initiative CVD and initiated PE-CVD of polymeric functional coatings.

Within the framework of the SENSI project, the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) polymerization of metalloporphyrin building blocks has yielded a new class of metal-organic materials. The benefits of such knowledge have then been exploited to elaborate MOCN coatings with outstanding gas-separation properties. Read full project description on fnr.lu.

Getting into the substance of the topic

Membrane gas separation is an energy efficient and environmentally friendly technology. The CVD polymerization of porphyrin building units provide an easily up-scalable one-step method toward the deposition of MOCN coatings exhibiting superior gas-separation performances for multiple gas pairs. The rigid and microporous structure of the MOCN with pores’ size from 3 to 4 Å, associated to a special π stacking arrangement, is responsible for the excellent gas separation properties. This new class of dense and defect-free MOCN layers also proved to be mechanically flexible and compatible with operation at the high transmembrane pressures used in commercial gas-separation process.

We invite you to read the scientific publication entitled “Metal–Organic Covalent Network Chemical Vapor Deposition for Gas Separation”, written by LIST researcher Nicolas Boscher and MIT researchers, and published on 14 June 2016 in the Advanced Materials journal. Abstract: “The chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization of metalloporphyrin building units is demonstrated to provide an easily up-scalable one-step method toward the deposition of a new class of dense and defect-free metal–organic covalent network (MOCN) layers. The resulting hyper-thin and flexible MOCN layers exhibit outstanding gas-separation performances for multiple gas pairs.”

> Don’t hesitate to contact Nicolas Boscher via email for any further information.