A highly robust heterometallic TbIII/NiII–organic framework for C2 hydrocarbon separation and capture

Abstract

The exquisite combination of hetreometallic [Tb^IIINi^II(COO)₃(H₂O)] clusters with a designed hexatopic ligand generates one highly robust three-dimensional heterometallic Tb^III/Ni^II–organic framework material {[TbNi(HTDP)(H₂O)]·3DMF·2H₂O}_n (NUC-2; H₆TDP = 2,4,6-tri(2,4-dicarboxyphenyl)pyridine). Gas adsorption measurements reveal that the activated NUC-2 exhibits ultrahigh C₂H₂ adsorption capacity but negligible uptake of C₂H₄, which is ascribed to its high stability and ultrahigh functional internal surface. Furthermore, dynamic breakthrough experiments confirm that NUC-2 can effectively fulfill the separation of a C₂H₂/C₂H₄ (1 : 99) mixture. Such excellent performance makes NUC-2 a promising adsorbent for practical C₂H₂/C₂H₄ separation and provides new insights into heterometallic MOFs for gas separation.