A cobalt-based metal-organic framework for efficient separation of propene from propane via electrostatic effect

Exploring porous materials for efficient adsorption separation of propene/propane (C3H6/C3H8) mixture to replace the energy-intensive cryogenic distillation remains a daunting challenge due to the similar physiochemical properties of the two gases. Herein, we report a cobalt-based metal-organic framework, MUF-17, for efficient separation of C3H6/C3H8 by exploiting the electrostatic effect. MUF-17 exhibits a moderate C3H6 uptake of 2.44 mmol/g and good C3H6/C3H8 selectivity of 3.8 at 298 K and 1.0 bar. Breakthrough experiments confirm the excellent C3H6/C3H8 separation with the C3H6 captured productivity of 1.26 mmol/g. Molecular simulations reveal that MUF-17 enables effective trapping of C3H6 and discrimination from C3H8, due to the electrostatic potential compatibility well fitting for C3H6 within the confined pore space that provides the stronger binding sites of C3H6 than C3H8. Furthermore, other combinational features of moisture stable, low-cost, ready large-scale synthesis, and good recyclability are observed for MUF-17, making it a promising candidate for C3H6/C3H8 separation.