Development of Metal-Organic Molecular Sieves for the Separation and Sorption of CO2 and CH4

The paper deals with the synthesis and modification of metal-organic molecular sieves for the separation and sorption of CO2 and CH4. The metal-organic framework compound Cu-3(BTC)(2) was incorporated for the first time into the MeKS carbon matrix, which allowed stabilization of Cu-3(BTC)(2) and expansion of the stability range of the framework compound from pH 3.1-7.8 for Cu-3(BTC)(2) to pH 2.85-9.90 for Cu-3(BTC)(2)/C. The structure and chemical composition of the products were proved by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence analysis, IR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The textural characteristics of the material were determined from the results of adsorption tests with nitrogen, water vapor, and pyridine. The ability of both Cu-3(BTC)(2) and Cu-3(BTC)(2)/C to accumulate CO2 and CH4 was examined. The modification increased the adsorption capacity for CO2 and CH4. The Cu-3(BTC)(2) modification improves the efficiency of the separation of CO2 and CH4 from H-2, O-2, N-2: The separation factors of CO2 and CH4 from inseparable H-2, O-2, and N-2 were 3 and 3.8, respectively.