Abstract
Light hydrocarbons are important raw materials for industrial products and fine chemicals. The storage and separation of C1–C3 hydrocarbons are vital to their practical use. Here, we report efficient C1–C3 hydrocarbon adsorption and separation with a NbO-type anionic copper metal–organic framework with uncoordinated –COO− groups ([Cu2(L)·(H2O)2]·2H2O·3DMA·(CH3)2NH2) (1). Complex 1 exhibited large C2H2 (190 cm3 g−1), C2H4 (147 cm3 g−1), C2H6 (156 cm3 g−1), C3H6 (170 cm3 g−1), and C3H8 (173 cm3 g−1) uptakes and high selectivities for C2H2/CH4 (32.3), C3H6/CH4 (152), and C3H8/CH4 (127) under ambient conditions. The excellent cycling performance of the material was reflected by only 9.2 and 10.9% losses of the C2H2 and C3H6 storage capacities even after ten cycles of adsorption–desorption tests. First-principles calculations and Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations further revealed that not only the open metal sites but also the –COO− groups played a key role in the high C2–C3 hydrocarbon uptakes. The results obtained in this study suggest that anionic 1 is a promising candidate for light hydrocarbon adsorption and natural gas purification at room temperature.
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