Inherent Ethyl Acetate Selectivity in a Trianglimine Molecular Solid.

Authors :: He D
Zhao C
Chen L
Little MA
Chong SY
Clowes R
McKie K
Roper MG
Day GM
Liu M
Cooper AI
Source :: Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) [Chemistry] 2021 Jul 21; Vol. 27 (41), pp. 10589-10594. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 May 27.
Publication Year :: 2021
Abstract: Ethyl acetate is an important chemical raw material and solvent. It is also a key volatile organic compound in the brewing industry and a marker for lung cancer. Materials that are highly selective toward ethyl acetate are needed for its separation and detection. Here, we report a trianglimine macrocycle (TAMC) that selectively adsorbs ethyl acetate by forming a solvate. Crystal structure prediction showed this to be the lowest energy solvate structure available. This solvate leaves a metastable, "templated" cavity after solvent removal. Adsorption and breakthrough experiments confirmed that TAMC has adequate adsorption kinetics to separate ethyl acetate from azeotropic mixtures with ethanol, which is a challenging and energy-intensive industrial separation.<br /> (© 2021 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)