Orthogonal-array dynamic molecular sieving of propylene/propane mixtures

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited..

Rigid molecular sieving materials work well for small molecules with the complete exclusion of large ones1-3, and molecules with matching physiochemical properties may be separated using dynamic molecular sieving materials4-6. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)7-9 are known for their precise control of structures and functions on a molecular level10-15. However, the rational design of local flexibility in the MOF framework for dynamic molecular sieving remains difficult and challenging. Here we report a MOF material (JNU-3a) featuring one-dimension channels with embedded molecular pockets opening to propylene (C3H6) and propane (C3H8) at substantially different pressures. The dynamic nature of the pockets is revealed by single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation upon exposure of JNU-3a to an atmosphere of C3H6 or C3H8. Breakthrough experiments demonstrate that JNU-3a can realize high-purity C3H6 (≥99.5%) in a single adsorption-desorption cycle from an equimolar C3H6/C3H8 mixture over a broad range of flow rates, with a maximum C3H6 productivity of 53.5 litres per kilogram. The underlying separation mechanism-orthogonal-array dynamic molecular sieving-enables both large separation capacity and fast adsorption-desorption kinetics. This work presents a next-generation sieving material design that has potential for applications in adsorptive separation.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2021

Erschienen:

2021

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:595

Enthalten in:

Nature - 595(2021), 7868 vom: 21. Juli, Seite 542-548

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Zeng, Heng [VerfasserIn]
Xie, Mo [VerfasserIn]
Wang, Ting [VerfasserIn]
Wei, Rong-Jia [VerfasserIn]
Xie, Xiao-Jing [VerfasserIn]
Zhao, Yifang [VerfasserIn]
Lu, Weigang [VerfasserIn]
Li, Dan [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 11.01.2022

Date Revised 22.03.2022

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE

doi:

10.1038/s41586-021-03627-8

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM328354198