A Water-Resistant Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework for Ethane/Ethylene Separation in Humid Environments
Jiaqi Liu, Jiafeng Miao, Saif Ullah, Kang Zhou, Liang Yu, Hao Wang, Yongfei Wang, Timo Thonhauser, Jing Li
Abstract
The separation of ethane (C2H6) and ethylene (C2H4) represents a crucial process for the production of polymer-grade C2H4, and adsorptive separation holds enormous promise for this industrially important but challenging task. Here, we report a new hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HIAM-102) with suitable channel and superhydrophobicity for preferential adsorption of C2H6 over C2H4. HIAM-102 shows a C2H6/C2H4 IAST selectivity of 1.9 and C2H6 uptake of 48.25 cm3/g at 1 bar and 298 K. Benefitting from the hydrophobic pore surface, it can well-separate C2H6 and C2H4 under highly humid conditions, as confirmed by experimental column breakthrough measurements. Computational calculations provide additional support for the experimental observations that the nonpolar channel of HIAM-102 interact favorably with C2H6 over C2H4.