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Refinement of pore size at sub-angstrom precision in robust metal-organic frameworks for separation of xylenes.
- Source :
-
Nature communications [Nat Commun] 2020 Aug 27; Vol. 11 (1), pp. 4280. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Aug 27. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- The demand for xylenes is projected to increase over the coming decades. The separation of xylene isomers, particularly p- and m-xylenes, is vital for the production of numerous polymers and materials. However, current state-of-the-art separation is based upon fractional crystallisation at 220 K which is highly energy intensive. Here, we report the discrimination of xylene isomers via refinement of the pore size in a series of porous metal-organic frameworks, MFM-300, at sub-angstrom precision leading to the optimal kinetic separation of all three xylene isomers at room temperature. The exceptional performance of MFM-300 for xylene separation is confirmed by dynamic ternary breakthrough experiments. In-depth structural and vibrational investigations using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and terahertz spectroscopy define the underlying host-guest interactions that give rise to the observed selectivity (p-xylene < o-xylene < m-xylene) and separation factors of 4.6-18 for p- and m-xylenes.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2041-1723
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Nature communications
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 32855396
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17640-4