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Topologically guided tuning of Zr-MOF pore structures for highly selective separation of C6 alkane isomers

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [6];  [1];  [1];  [9];  [6];  [10];  [3];  [2];  [1]
  1. Rutgers Univ., Piscataway, NJ (United States). Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
  2. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal (Saudi Arabia). Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division
  3. Peking University, Beijing (China). College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering
  4. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)
  5. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC (United States). Department of Physics
  6. Univ. of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States). Department of Materials Science & Engineering
  7. Samara University (Russia). Samara Center for Theoretical Materials Science (SCTMS
  8. Rutgers Univ., Piscataway, NJ (United States). Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; South China University of Technology, Guangzhou (China). School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  9. Samara University (Russia). Samara Center for Theoretical Materials Science (SCTMS; Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano (Italy). Dipartimento di Chimica
  10. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC (United States). Department of Physics; Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Department of Chemistry
As an alternative technology to energy intensive distillations, adsorptive separation by porous solids offers lower energy cost and higher efficiency. Herein we report a topology-directed design and synthesis of a series of Zr-based metal-organic frameworks with optimized pore structure for efficient separation of C6 alkane isomers, a critical step in the petroleum refining process to produce gasoline with high octane rating. Zr6O4(OH)4(bptc)3 adsorbs a large amount of n-hexane but excluding branched isomers. The n-hexane uptake is ~70% higher than that of a benchmark adsorbent, zeolite-5A. A derivative structure, Zr6O4(OH)8(H2O)4(abtc)2, is capable of discriminating all three C6 isomers and yielding a high separation factor for 3-methylpentane over 2,3-dimethylbutane. This property is critical for producing gasoline with further improved quality. Multicomponent breakthrough experiments provide a quantitative measure of the capability of these materials for separation of C6 alkane isomers. A detailed structural analysis reveals the unique topology, connectivity and relationship of these compounds.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; FG02-08ER46491
OSTI ID:
1436677
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 9; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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High-throughput computational screening of metal–organic frameworks with topological diversity for hexane isomer separations journal January 2019
Stack the Bowls: Tailoring the Electronic Structure of Corannulene-Integrated Crystalline Materials journal July 2018
Tailor-Made Microporous Metal-Organic Frameworks for the Full Separation of Propane from Propylene Through Selective Size Exclusion journal October 2018
Why Design Matters: From Decorated Metal Oxide Clusters to Functional Metal–Organic Frameworks journal February 2020
A Chemically Stable Hofmann‐Type Metal−Organic Framework with Sandwich‐Like Binding Sites for Benchmark Acetylene Capture journal May 2020
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Current Status of Microporous Metal–Organic Frameworks for Hydrocarbon Separations journal October 2019
Versatile Amorphous Structures of Phosphonate Metal−Organic Framework/Alginate Composite for Tunable Sieving of Ions journal August 2019
Efficient Separation of n‐ Butene and iso ‐Butene by Flexible Ultramicroporous Metal‐Organic Frameworks with Pocket‐like Cavities journal July 2019
Adsorptive Separation of Acetylene from Ethylene in Isostructural Gallate‐Based Metal–Organic Frameworks journal December 2019
Constructing new metal–organic frameworks with complicated ligands from “One-Pot” in situ reactions journal January 2019
A Metal-Organic Framework with Suitable Pore Size and Specific Functional Sites for the Removal of Trace Propyne from Propylene journal October 2018
A Flexible Two‐Fold Interpenetrated Indium MOF Exhibiting Dynamic Response to Gas Adsorption and High‐Sensitivity Detection of Nitroaromatic Explosives journal July 2019
van der Waals density functional with corrected C 6 coefficients journal May 2019
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Harnessing solvent effects to integrate alkylamine into metal–organic frameworks for exceptionally high CO 2 uptake journal January 2019
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The synthesis and applications of chiral pyrrolidine functionalized metal–organic frameworks and covalent-organic frameworks journal January 2020
Identifying the best metal–organic frameworks and unravelling different mechanisms for the separation of pentane isomers journal January 2019
Metal–Organic Framework Materials for the Separation and Purification of Light Hydrocarbons journal May 2019


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