Understanding pore features of pillar-layered MOFs on one-step C2H4 purification from C2H6/C2H4 mixtures

Purification of ethylene from ethane through adsorption separation is a key industrial process in present chemical field, since the similar physical properties of both C2H4 and C2H6 that makes them difficult to separate. Therefore, constructing C2H6-selective adsorbents and clarifying its structure-activity relationship is a very difficult undertaking. In this study, 3D pillar-layered metal organic frameworks (MMOF-kgm (M = Zn, Co, Ni) and NiMOF-sql) with different topologies, kagome and square lattice, were constructed by using the cheap ligands (1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid and triethylenediamine). The effect of pore features on C2H6/C2H4 separation performance and the separation mechanism were systematically investigated by the above two isomeric MOFs. In particular, NiMOF-kgm with kagome topology provides narrower triangular pore shows notably adsorption of C2H6 over C2H4, which is validated by gas adsorption, IAST selectivity and breakthrough measurements. The selective adsorption mechanisms of MOF with kagome topology were further revealed through DFT calculations. This study provides in-depth insights into optimizing the pore structure of MOFs to enhance C2H6/C2H4 separation performance, offering new design strategies for developing efficient materials for ethane-selective adsorbent for one-step ethylene purification.