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Adaptive Pore Opening to Form Tailored Adsorption Sites in a Cooperatively Flexible Framework Enables Record Inverse Propane/Propylene Separation
Published
Author(s)
Ryan Klein, Lukas Bingel, Arijit Halder, Marcus Carter, Benjamin Trump, Eric Bloch, Wei Zhou, Krista Walton, Craig Brown, C. McGuirk
Abstract
A proposed low-energy alternative to the separation of alkanes from alkenes by energy-intensive cryogenic distillation is separation by porous adsorbents. Unfortunately, most adsorbents preferentially take up the desired, high-value major component alkene, requiring frequent regeneration. Adsorbents with inverse selectivity for the minor component alkane would enable the direct production of purified, reagent-grade alkene, greatly reducing global energy consumption. However, such materials are exceedingly rare, especially for propane/propylene separation. Here, we report that through adaptive and spontaneous pore size and shape adaptation to optimize an ensemble of weak noncovalent interactions, the structurally responsive metal−organic framework CdIF-13 (sod−Cd(benzimidazolate)2) exhibits inverse selectivity for propane over propylene with record-setting separation performance under industrially relevant temperature, pressure, and mixture conditions. Powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements combined with first-principles calculations yield atomicscale insight and reveal the induced fit mechanism of adsorbate-specific pore adaptation and ensemble interactions between ligands and adsorbates. Dynamic column breakthrough measurements confirm that CdIF-13 displays selectivity under mixed-component conditions of varying ratios, with a record measured selectivity factor of α ≈ 3 at 95:5 propylene:propane at 298 K and 1 bar. When sequenced with a low-cost rigid adsorbent, we demonstrated the direct purification of propylene under ambient conditions. This combined atomic-level structural characterization and performance testing firmly establishes how cooperatively flexible materials can be capable of unprecedented separation factors.
Klein, R.
, Bingel, L.
, Halder, A.
, Carter, M.
, Trump, B.
, Bloch, E.
, Zhou, W.
, Walton, K.
, Brown, C.
and McGuirk, C.
(2023),
Adaptive Pore Opening to Form Tailored Adsorption Sites in a Cooperatively Flexible Framework Enables Record Inverse Propane/Propylene Separation, Journal of the American Chemical Society, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c06754, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=936447
(Accessed October 10, 2025)