Selective capture and separation of xenon and krypton using metal organic frameworks: a review

Xenon and krypton are widespread useful noble gases in commercial lighting, lasers, electronics, and medical industry. At the same time, radioactive noble gases may proliferate from used nuclear fuel and diffuse in open atmospheres. Metal organic frameworks as hotspot porous materials for gases uptake and separation are considered to be potential solutions. In this review, we comprehensively summarized recent researches on metal organic frameworks for selective capture and separation of xenon and krypton. Particularly, we followed the aspects of different optimal design strategies, including optimal pore/cage size and geometry, open metal sites, ions (anions and cations), and polar functional groups for enhancing the xenon adsorption and separation performances. Meanwhile, a comparison of each strategy and the mechanisms of xenon/krypton separation were pointed out. The separation of krypton from gases mixtures by dual-bed systems was further discussed. Finally, some existing challenges and opportunities for possible real applications were proclaimed.