Enhanced one‐step purification of <scp>C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub></scp> from <scp>C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>2</sub></scp>/<scp>C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub></scp>/<scp>C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub></scp> mixtures by fluorinated <scp>Zr‐MOF</scp>
Jiaqi Liu, Jiafeng Miao, Hao Wang, Yanli Gai, Jing Li
Abstract
Abstract The extraction of C 2 H 4 from C 2 H 6 /C 2 H 4 /C 2 H 2 mixtures is of great significance in the chemical industry for C 2 H 4 production but the process remains challenging due to the similarity of these C 2 hydrocarbon species in their molecular size and physical properties. Here, we report the fluorination of a stable Zr‐MOF, UiO‐66, to fine‐tune the pore dimensions and pore functionality. In particular, UiO‐66‐CF 3 shows notably preferential adsorption of C 2 H 6 and C 2 H 2 over C 2 H 4 , with C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 and C 2 H 6 /C 2 H 4 selectivities of 1.4 and 1.9, respectively. Theoretical calculations provide insight into the binding sites of UiO‐66‐CF 3 for C 2 hydrocarbon adsorption. Breakthrough experiments further confirmed the capability of the material for purification of C 2 H 4 from C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 /C 2 H 6 ternary mixtures, evidenced by the high purity C 2 H 4 (99.9%+) obtained directly from outlet gas.