Volume 61, Issue 41 e202211523
Research Article

Engineering Supramolecular Binding Sites in a Chemically Stable Metal-Organic Framework for Simultaneous High C2H2 Storage and Separation

Kai Shao

Kai Shao

State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Prof. Hui-Min Wen

Prof. Hui-Min Wen

College of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014 China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Cong-Cong Liang

Cong-Cong Liang

State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 China

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Xiaoyan Xiao

Xiaoyan Xiao

State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 China

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Xiao-Wen Gu

Xiao-Wen Gu

State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 China

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Prof. Banglin Chen

Corresponding Author

Prof. Banglin Chen

Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249-0698 USA

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Prof. Guodong Qian

Prof. Guodong Qian

State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 China

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Prof. Bin Li

Corresponding Author

Prof. Bin Li

State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 China

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First published: 17 August 2022
Citations: 110

Graphical Abstract

We developed a novel strategy by engineering abundant supramolecular binding sites into a chemically stable HKUST-1-like MOF (ZJU-50a) to achieve simultaneously high C2H2 storage and selectivity, breaking the trade-off between adsorption capacity and selectivity for C2H2/CO2 separation.

Abstract

Developing porous materials to overcome the trade-off between adsorption capacity and selectivity for C2H2/CO2 separation remains a challenge. Herein, we report a stable HKUST-1-like MOF (ZJU-50a), featuring large cages decorated with high density of supramolecular binding sites to achieve both high C2H2 storage and selectivity. ZJU-50a exhibits one of the highest C2H2 storage capacity (192 cm3 g−1) and concurrently high C2H2/CO2 selectivity (12) at 298 K and 1 bar. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies on gas-loaded ZJU-50a crystal unveil that the incorporated supramolecular binding sites can selectively take up C2H2 molecule but not CO2 to result in both high C2H2 storage and selectivity. Breakthrough experiments validated its separation performance for C2H2/CO2 mixtures, providing a high C2H2 recovery capacity of 84.2 L kg−1 with 99.5 % purity. This study suggests a novel strategy of engineering supramolecular binding sites into MOFs to overcome the trade-off for this separation.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

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