Tuning the Gate Opening Pressure of Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for the Selective Separation of Hydrocarbons

Separation of hydrocarbons is one of the most energy demanding processes. The need to develop materials for the selective adsorption of hydrocarbons, under reasonable conditions, is therefore of paramount importance. This work unveils unexpected hydrocarbon selectivity in a flexible Metal–Organic Fr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Chemical Society 2012-09, Vol.134 (37), p.15201-15204
Main Authors: Nijem, Nour, Wu, Haohan, Canepa, Pieremanuele, Marti, Anne, Balkus, Kenneth J, Thonhauser, Timo, Li, Jing, Chabal, Yves J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Hydrocarbons - isolation & purification
Metals - chemistry
Organic Chemicals - chemistry
Spectrum Analysis, Raman
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Separation of hydrocarbons is one of the most energy demanding processes. The need to develop materials for the selective adsorption of hydrocarbons, under reasonable conditions, is therefore of paramount importance. This work unveils unexpected hydrocarbon selectivity in a flexible Metal–Organic Framework (MOF), based on differences in their gate opening pressure. We show selectivity dependence on both chain length and specific framework–gas interaction. By combining Raman spectroscopy and theoretical van der Waals Density Functional (vdW-DF) calculations, the separation mechanisms governing this unexpected gate-opening behavior are revealed.
ISSN:0002-7863
1520-5126
DOI:10.1021/ja305754f