Propylene/propane (C₃H₆/C₃H₈) separation is a typical energy-intensive industrial processes and the membrane-based separation technology is promising as its low-energy separation effectiveness. Hence, we developed a new ZIF-8 composite material as nanofillers that functionalized by a silver complex (Ag₃pz₃) via in-situ growth method. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation result shown that the Ag₃pz₃ exhibits much stronger interaction with C₃H₆ than that of C₃H₈, and this diversity can effectively facilitate C₃H₆ transport through membrane. Furthermore, this composite material reveals a preferable surface area and unique sieve pore structure that same as ZIF-8. Besides, the Ag complex have no destroy on ZIF-8 inner cage framework, which may confirm its potential for C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separation. Accordantly, such composite material was incorporated in polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) to fabricate mixed-matrix membrane for C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separation. The optimum MMM possess a higher ideal selectivity (11.7) and propylene permeability (3767 Barrer), and exhibits a selectivity of 9.5 with propylene permeance of 3708 Barrer for a C₃H₆/C₃H₈ (50:50) mixture. Such high permeability with excellent selectivity surpasses the Trade-off line of polymer membrane and such MMMs may have significant potential for separation applications. Besides, this ZIF-8 composite material can provide inspirations for exploring and designing ZIFs materials in membrane-based gas separation.

丙烯/丙烷(C ₃ H ₆ /C ₃ H ₈ )分离是典型的能源密集型工业过程，膜分离技术因其低能耗的分离效果而大有可为。因此，我们开发了一种新的 ZIF-8 复合材料作为纳米填料，通过原位生长方法由银络合物 (Ag ₃ pz ₃ )功能化。密度泛函理论（DFT）计算结果表明，Ag ₃ pz _{3与C 3} H ₆的相互作用比与C ₃ H ₈的相互作用强得多, 这种多样性可以有效地促进 C ₃ H ₆的跨膜转运。此外，这种复合材料显示出与 ZIF-8 相同的更好的表面积和独特的筛孔结构。此外，Ag 配合物对 ZIF-8 内笼框架没有破坏，这可能证实了其用于 C ₃ H ₆ /C ₃ H ₈分离的潜力。因此，将这种复合材料掺入本征微孔聚合物（PIM-1）中，制备了C ₃ H ₆ /C ₃ H _{8混合基质膜。}分离。_{最佳MMM具有更高的理想选择性(11.7)和丙烯渗透率(3767 Barrer)，对于C 3} H ₆ /C ₃ H ₈ (50:50)混合物，选择性为9.5，丙烯渗透率为3708 Barrer。这种具有优异选择性的高渗透性超过了聚合物膜的权衡线，这种 MMM 可能具有巨大的分离应用潜力。此外，这种ZIF-8复合材料可为探索和设计基于膜的气体分离中的ZIFs材料提供灵感。