Issue 5, 2018

One-of-a-kind: a microporous metal–organic framework capable of adsorptive separation of linear, mono- and di-branched alkane isomers via temperature- and adsorbate-dependent molecular sieving

Abstract

Separation of alkane isomers represents a crucial process in the petrochemical industry in order to achieve a high octane rating of gasoline. Herein, we report the first example of complete separation of linear, monobranched and dibranched alkane isomers using a single adsorbent. A calcium-based robust microporous metal–organic framework, Ca(H2tcpb) (tcpb = 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)-benzene), exhibits unique molecular exclusion behavior which enables full separation of binary or ternary mixtures of alkane isomers into the pure form of each isomerate. The successful separation of monobranched and dibranched alkane isomers will not only lead to the production of higher quality gasoline with maximum possible octane numbers but also fill the gap in the current separation technology. Exploration of the separation mechanism indicates that the structural flexibility and adsorbate-dependent structural change of the porous framework play a vital role in the observed temperature-dependent molecular sieving property of the adsorbent.

Graphical abstract: One-of-a-kind: a microporous metal–organic framework capable of adsorptive separation of linear, mono- and di-branched alkane isomers via temperature- and adsorbate-dependent molecular sieving

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
09 фев. 2018
Accepted
29 мар. 2018
First published
29 мар. 2018

Energy Environ. Sci., 2018,11, 1226-1231

Author version available

One-of-a-kind: a microporous metal–organic framework capable of adsorptive separation of linear, mono- and di-branched alkane isomers via temperature- and adsorbate-dependent molecular sieving

H. Wang, X. Dong, E. Velasco, D. H. Olson, Y. Han and J. Li, Energy Environ. Sci., 2018, 11, 1226 DOI: 10.1039/C8EE00459E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements