Porous MOF Featuring 2D Intersecting Channels Based on a Pentanuclear Mn5(COO)10CO3 Cluster with Upgrading of Pipeline Natural Gas.

ABSTRACT

Natural gas plays a crucial role in daily and industrial production, but the impurities contained in natural gas limit its further use. It is very important to develop adsorbents that can separate CH4 from multicomponent mixtures, but there are still many challenges and problems. Herein, a novel porous MOF {[Mn5(pbdia)2(CO3)(H2O)2] ↔ 5H2O ↔ 2DMF}n (pbdia = 2,2'-(5-carboxy-1,3-phenylene)bis(oxy) diterephthalic acid) was successfully synthesized based on a flexible pentacarboxylic acid ligand and a unique pentanuclear Mn5(COO)10CO3 cluster. The MOF reveals a 3D porous structure with 2D intersecting channels, which shows high C3H8, C2H6, and CO2 adsorption capacities and affinities over CH4. Moreover, the ideal adsorption solution theory selectivities of C3H8/CH4, C2H6/CH4, and CO2/CH4 can reach 263.0, 27.0, and 7.7, respectively, suggesting a potential for removing the low content of C3H8, C2H6, and CO2 from pipeline natural gas, which was further confirmed by breakthrough curves and GCMC simulations.