Nanospace Engineering of Metal-Organic Frameworks through Dynamic Spacer Installation of Multifunctionalities for Efficient Separation of Ethane from Ethane/Ethylene Mixtures

Herein, a dynamic spacer installation (DSI) strategy has been implemented to construct a series of multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), LIFM-61/31/62/63, with optimized pore space and pore environment for ethane/ethylene separation. In this respect, a series of linear dicarboxylic acids were deliberately installed in the prototype MOF, LIFM-28, leading to a dramatically increased pore volume (from 0.41 to 0.82 cm(3) g(-1)) and reduced pore size (from 11.1x11.1 angstrom(2) to 5.6x5.6 angstrom(2)). The increased pore volume endows the multifunctional MOFs with much higher ethane adsorption capacity, especially for LIFM-63 (4.8 mmol g(-1)), representing nearly three times as much ethane as the prototypical counterpart (1.7 mmol g(-1)) at 273 K and 1 bar. Meanwhile, the reduced pore size imparts enhanced ethane/ethylene selectivity of the multifunctional MOFs. Theoretical calculations and dynamic breakthrough experiments confirm that the DSI is a promising approach for the rational design of multifunctional MOFs for this challenging task.

Automated summary

A dynamic spacer installation (DSI) strategy was used to construct a series of multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for ethane/ethylene separation, with increased ethane adsorption capacity and enhanced ethane/ethylene selectivity. The DSI approach showed promising results for the rational design of multifunctional MOFs in challenging tasks.