Pore engineering of metal–organic frameworks for ethylene purification

Abstract

Ethylene production is an important and direct indicator related to the development of the petrochemical industry in a country. However, the separation and purification of ethylene is an extremely energy-consuming process. In this review, the latest progress in the purification of ethylene using metal organic frameworks (MOFs), a new type of physical adsorbent, is summarized according to four classifications of pore engineering, including pore surface functionalization, molecular sieving, controlled framework softness and dynamic pore-dominated molecular diffusion. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects in this field are also discussed.