Doubly Interpenetrated Metal–Organic Framework of pcu Topology for Selective Separation of Propylene from Propane

Adsorptive
separation is an appealing alternative technology to
reduce the high energy and capital cost of the distillation separation
of propylene/propane; however, it is very challenging to realize.
A new flexible metal–organic framework (MOF) material [Zn2(BDC-Cl)2(Py2TTz)] with a doubly interpenetrated
pillared paddle wheel structure of pcu (primitive cubic)
topology has been realized for this difficult separation for the first
time. Through a judicious choice of linkers, the framework has small
pore apertures that lead to much more propylene adsorption than propane.
The selective adsorption relies on the sieving effect of the flexible
framework. The column breakthrough experiment further demonstrated
that efficient separation can be achieved under dynamic conditions.