A Metal-Organic Framework with Nonpolar Pore Surfaces for the One-Step Acquisition of C2H4 from a C2H4 and C2H6 Mixture

Because C2H4 plays an essential role in the chemical industry, economical and energy-efficient separation of ethylene (C2H4) from ethane (C2H6) is extremely important. With the exception of energy-intensive cryogenic distillation, there are few one-step methods to obtain polymer-grade (>= 99.95 % pure) C2H4 from C2H4/C2H6 mixtures. Here we report a highly stable metal-organic-framework (MOF) FJI-H11-Me(des) (FJI-H=Hong's group in Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter) which features one-dimensional hexagonal nonpolar pore surfaces constructed by aromatic rings and alkyl groups. This FJI-H11-Me(des) adsorbs C2H6 rather than C2H4 between 273 and 303 K. Practical breakthrough experiments with C2H4 containing 1 % C2H6 have shown that FJI-H11-Me(des) can realize the acquisition in one-step of polymer-grade, 99.95 % pure C2H4 under various conditions including different gas flow rates, temperatures and relative humidity.