Two Finite Binuclear [M2(μ2‑OH)(COO)2] (M = Co, Ni) Based Highly Porous Metal–Organic Frameworks with High Performance for Gas Sorption and Separation

Two highly porous MOFs, [Co2(μ2-OH)­(bpdc)­(Htpim)2]­[SiF6]·3.5DMA·2.5CH3OH (JLU-Liu37, H2bpdc = biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate, Htpim = 2,4,5-tri­(4-pyridyl)­imidazole) and [Ni2(μ2-OH)­(bpdc)­(Htpim)2]­[SiF6]·7.5DMA·6CH3OH (JLU-Liu38), have been solvothermally synthesized by using the mixed ligand strategy. Both of the compounds possess finite binuclear [M2(μ2-OH)­(COO)2] (M = Co, Ni) secondary building units (SBUs) which formed with a polar functional group, μ2-OH. JLU-Liu37 and JLU-Liu38 exhibit notable adsorption capacities for CO2 and light hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H6, and C3H8). Moreover, both of the materials exhibit arrestive natural gas selective separation ability, especially for C3H8/CH4 (206 for an equimolar mixture under 1 bar and 298 K, for JLU-Liu37). Both of the MOFs may be effectively applied in the separation of industrial light hydrocarbons.