Pore Distortion in a Metal–Organic Framework for Regulated Separation of Propane and Propylene

• DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c10423
• Publication Date: 2021-11-15T17:39:30Z
• Authors: Liang Yu; Xue Han; Hao Wang; Saif Ullah; Qibin Xia; Weiyao Li; Jiangnan Li; Ivan da Silva; Pascal Manuel; Svemir Rudić; Yongqiang Cheng; Sihai Yang; Timo Thonhauser; Jing Li
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

The development of porous solids for adsorptive separation of propylene and propane remains an important and challenging line of research. State-of-the-art sorbent materials often suffer from the trade-off between adsorption capacity and selectivity. Here, we report the regulated separation of propylene and propane in a metal-organic framework via designed pore distortion. The distorted pore structure of HIAM-301 successfully excludes propane and thus achieved simultaneously high selectivity (>150) and large capacity (∼3.2 mmol/g) of propylene at 298 K and 1 bar. Dynamic breakthrough measurements validated the excellent separation of propane and propylene. In situ neutron powder diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering revealed the binding domains of adsorbed propylene molecules in HIAM-301 as well as host-guest interaction dynamics. This study presents a new benchmark for the adsorptive separation of propylene and propane.