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

ABSTRACT

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.