Preparation of novel metal-organic frameworks for selective gas adsorption

The objective of this work is to develop CuCl@AC adsorbent with high CO capacity and selectivity from CO/N2 binary gas mixture. A series of CuCl@AC adsorbents were prepared by a solid-state auto dispersion method, and then characterized by N2 adsorption test, XRD and XPS. CO and N2 adsorption isotherms on the adsorbents were measured by a volumetric method. The adsorption isotherms and selectivities of CuCl@AC adsorbents for CO/N2 binary mixture were estimated on the basis of ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST). Results showed that (a) CO uptakes of CuCl@AC increased with CuCl loading in the loading range of 0–1.2 g/g. The maximal CO adsorption capacity of the CuCl@AC with CuCl loading of 1.2 g/g reached 38 cc/g at the P/P0 of 0.40, around 8 times of that over the original AC; (b) calcination time for the preparation of Cu(I)@AC had significantly impact on CO adsorption of the adsorbents due to valence change of Cu species on carbon surfaces. XPS analysis indicated that when the calcination time was optimized to be 1 h at 350 °C under argon, the prepared Cu(I)@AC had the highest percentage of Cu+ species on its surfaces, and consequently it had the highest CO capacity among the adsorbents since adsorptive species responsible for CO adsorption is Cu+; (c) The IAST-predicted CO/N2 adsorption selectivities of 1.2CuCl/AC decreased with pressure. Its CO/N2 selectivity was up to 100–450 at low pressure range of 0–10 kPa, and it remained in the range of 50–100 at higher pressure range of 20–100 kPa. The high adsorption capacity and selectivity of Cu(I)@AC adsorbents made it a promising adsorbent for CO/N2 mixture separation.

An All-Purpose Porous Cleaner for Acid Gas Removal and Dehydration of Natural Gas

Some potential adsorbents for ethylene/ethane separation are ethylene selective while the others are ethane selective. Among different adsorbents, i.e., zeolites and metal organic frameworks (MOFs), a comparative study is critical to find the more suitable adsorbent for the separation. In this paper, binary ethylene/ethane adsorption performances of zeolites and MOFs, i.e., equilibrium selectivities and adsorption capacities are investigated utilizing ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST). IAST model is applied at different gas compositions (0.1–0.9 ethylene mole fractions) and pressures up to 100 kPa. The results revealed that the most selective adsorbent toward ethylene is 5A zeolite while MOFs have higher equilibrium adsorption capacities. Among zeolites and MOFs, 5A and Fe2(dobdc) have the highest selectivity (27.4 and 13.6) and capacity (≈2.8 and 5.8 mmol ethylene/g) at 100 kPa and 298 K for a 50/50 mixture. Among ethane selective adsorbents, Silicalite-1 zeolite and UTSA-33a (MOF) have the highest selectivity and capacity (≈2.9 and ≈1.5 mmol ethane/g) at 100 kPa and 298 K for a 50/50 mixture, respectively. Investigation showed that adsorption capacity of ethylene selective adsorbents is higher than that of ethane selective ones.

Equilibrium adsorption and kinetic study of CO2 and N2 on synthesized carbon Black–Zeolite composite

Open AccessCCS ChemistryRESEARCH ARTICLE3 Oct 2022Fluorous Metal–Organic Frameworks with Unique Cage-in-Cage Structures Featuring Fluorophilic Pore Surfaces for Efficient C2H2/CO2 Separation Xing-Ping Fu†, Yu-Ling Wang†, Xue-Feng Zhang, Zhenjie Zhang, Chun-Ting He and Qing-Yan Liu Xing-Ping Fu† College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Small Molecules for Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022 Department of Ecological and Resources Engineering, Fujian Key Laboratory of Eco-Industrial Green Technology, Wuyi University, Wuyishan, Fujian 354300 , Yu-Ling Wang† College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Small Molecules for Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022 , Xue-Feng Zhang College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Small Molecules for Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022 , Zhenjie Zhang College of Chemistry and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 , Chun-Ting He College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Small Molecules for Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022 and Qing-Yan Liu *Corresponding author: E-mail Address: [email protected] College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Small Molecules for Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022 https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.021.202101575 SectionsSupplemental MaterialAboutAbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail The similarities in molecular size and physical properties of acetylene (C2H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) produce a formidable challenge for their separation. Herein, we report two isoreticular fluorinated metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), labeled as JXNU-11(Fe2M) (M = Ni and Co), featuring unique octahedral cages encapsulated by cuboctahedral cages. JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) shows a record high C2H2-capture amount of 4.8 mmol g−1 and a long C2H2/CO2 breakthrough interval time of 55 min g−1 in an actual breakthrough experiment based on the equimolar C2H2/CO2 mixture under ambient conditions, indicating a high-performance material for C2H2 capture and C2H2/CO2 separation. Computational simulations revealed that the nanosized double-shell cages decorated with abundant fluorine and carboxylate oxygen atoms afford the optimized pore spaces for preferentially trapping C2H2, which account for the remarkable C2H2-capture capacity and the highly efficient C2H2/CO2 separation for JXNU-11(Fe2M). This work not only develops a design strategy for building the cage-in-cage structures in MOFs, but also provides universal guidance on designing porous MOFs with highly polarized and fluorophilic pore cages to capture C2H2. Download figure Download PowerPoint Introduction Acetylene (C2H2), the simplest alkyne, is an essential chemical for many common chemical products, such as acetaldehyde, acetic acid, plastic, and synthetic rubber,1 and electronic materials in the electronics industry.2 Additionally, C2H2 is an important flammable gas widely utilized for welding and metal cutting. The production of C2H2 from the oxidative coupling of natural gas is a commonly used preparation method for C2H2 gas in the petrochemical industry.3 Such a C2H2 preparation process leads to a small amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the C2H2 product. The presence of CO2 in C2H2 starting material has a seriously negative effect on subsequent preparation processes for the down-stream chemical products. Thus separation of C2H2/CO2 mixtures is vital in the petrochemical industry. However, the similar molecular sizes, as well as the same kinetic diameter (3.3 Å) of the linear-shaped C2H2 and CO2 molecules4–9 ( Supporting Information Table S1), cause the C2H2/CO2 separation to be a formidable task. Organic solvent extraction and cryogenic distillation are the current technologies for purifying C2H2 gas but are energy-intensive and environmentally unfriendly. Therefore, it is important to develop a highly energy-efficient and environment-friendly technology for achieving C2H2/CO2 separation. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with porous and crystalline structures are fascinating porous solid materials.5–14 MOFs show highly promising potential in gaseous mixture separation due to their designable frameworks' structures and tunable pore environments.15–19 Recently, many MOFs have been utilized for the separation of C2H2/CO2 mixtures,20–29 and a few of them exhibit high-performance C2H2/CO2 separation.30–34 In the column breakthrough separation of binary gases, the breakthrough time and the captured amount for the late eluted adsorbate in the column are the important parameters for evaluating the separation efficiency of an adsorbent. The long breakthrough time for the late eluted gas generally results in a large captured amount for the late eluted gas, leading to a high separation efficiency of the adsorbent. However, in practice breakthrough experiments based on the equimolar C2H2/CO2 mixture, C2H2 breakthrough time for MOFs is generally shorter than 50 min g−1 under ambient conditions.35–40 The top-performing MOFs are SNNU-45 and ZJU-74a with the C2H2 breakthrough times of 113 and 81 min g−1,41,42 respectively. In contrast, the C2H2-captured amounts for MOFs in the packed columns are commonly less than 3 mmol g−1. SNNU-45 and ZJU-74a have the highest C2H2-capture amounts of 3.5 and 3.64 mmol g−1, respectively. It has been well demonstrated that the fluorine atoms of the inorganic anions, including MF62− (M = Si4+ and Ti4+) and NbOF52,− in the hybrid MOFs are the preferential bind sites for the acidic hydrogen atoms of the alkyne.43–47 The multiple C–H···F interactions between the C2H2 molecule and inorganic MF62− or NbOF52− groups of MOFs have resulted in an efficient C2H2/CO2 separation.47–49 Thus the fluorinated MOFs are a highly appealing platform for C2H2/CO2 separation. Unfortunately, due to the synthetic inaccessibility of the suitable fluorinated organic ligands, the fluorinated MOFs have thus been largely unexplored.50–54 Herein, we present two isostructural fluorous MOFs [termed as JXNU-11(Fe2M), M represents the divalent metal ions of Ni2+ and Co2+] with a fluorinated organic linker, featuring unique cage-in-cage structures. Remarkably, JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) shows a record-high C2H2-capture amount and a long C2H2 breakthrough time in the practice breakthrough experiment, resulting in high-performance C2H2/CO2 separation. The double-shell cages possessing highly electronegative F and O atoms in JXNU-11(Fe2M) are suitable pore cages to match the size of C2H2. The C2H2 molecules are trapped in the highly fluorophilic and polarized double-shell cages through strong host–guest interactions, which are responsible for the highly efficient C2H2/CO2 separation by JXNU-11(Fe2M). Experimental Section Synthesis of JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) A mixture of FeCl3·6H2O (8.10 mg, 0.03 mmol), Ni(NO3)3·6H2O (4.36 mg, 0.015 mmol), 3,3′,5,5′-tetrakis(fluoro)biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate acid (4.71 mg, 0.015 mmol), 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (6.58 mg, 0.015 mmol), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) (2 mL), and CH3COOH (0.19 mL) was capped in a 20 mL vial and heated at 100 °C for 2 days. After cooling to room temperature, brown triangle-shaped crystals were obtained. Elemental analysis for {[Fe2Ni(μ3-O)(TFBPDC)(BTB)4/3(H2O)3]·6DMF·2.5H2O}n (C68H77F4O24.5N6Fe2Ni: 1616.74). Calcd/found: H, 4.80/4.71; C, 50.51/50.41; N, 5.19/5.02. IR data (KBr, cm−1): 3427 (m), 1662 (s), 1615 (s), 1394 (s), 1253 (w), 1185 (w), 1147 (w), 1098 (w), 1035 (s), 858 (s), 807 (w), 781 (s), 683 (w), 663 (w), 589 (m), 498 (m), 443 (s). Synthesis of JXNU-11(Fe2Co) A mixture of FeCl3·6H2O (8.10 mg, 0.03 mmol), Co(NO3)3·6H2O (4.37 mg, 0.015 mmol), 3,3′,5,5′-tetrakis(fluoro)biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate acid (4.71 mg, 0.015 mmol), 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (6.58 mg, 0.015 mmol), DMF (2 mL), and CH3COOH (0.17 mL) was capped in a 20 mL vial and heated at 100 °C for 2 days. After cooling to room temperature, brown triangle-shaped crystals were obtained. Elemental analysis for {[Fe2Co(μ3-O)(TFBPDC)(BTB)4/3(H2O)3]·4DMF·H2O}n (C62H60F4O21N4Fe2Co: 1443.77). Calcd/found: H, 4.18/4.21; C, 51.57/51.46; N, 3.88/3.92. IR data (KBr, cm−1): 3420 (m), 1655 (s), 1612 (s), 1394 (s), 1254 (w), 1185 (w), 1146 (w), 1098 (w), 1034 (s), 859 (s), 808 (w), 781 (s), 706 (w), 663 (w), 589 (m), 500 (m), 443 (s). Methods X-ray single-crystal diffraction experiments were carried out with a Rigaku Oxford SuperNova diffractometer, and powder X-ray diffraction patterns were recorded on a Rigaku DMax 2500 powder diffractometer. Gas sorption–desorption isotherms were measured on a Micromeritics ASAP 2020 HD88 adsorption analyzer. Breakthrough experiments for separation of C2H2/CO2 (v/v, 50/50) were carried out in a fixed bed with a gas chromatograph detection system. The detailed experimental methods are provided in Supporting Information. Results and Discussion Compounds JXNU-11(Fe2M) constructed from the oxygen-centered heterometallic trimeric [Fe2M(μ3-O)(COO)6] (M = Ni2+ and Co2+) clusters (Figure 1a) were prepared. Compound JXNU-11(Fe2M) formulated as [Fe2M(μ3-O)(TFBPDC)(BTB)4/3(H2O)3]n is based on the linear 3,3′,5,5′-tetrakis(fluoro)biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate (TFBPDC2−) and the triangular 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (BTB3−) ligands (Figure 1b) and was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction ( Supporting Information Table S2). The phase purity of the bulk samples was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction ( Supporting Information Figure S2). The metal concentrations in both compounds were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy ( Supporting Information Table S3). The two compounds are isostructural and crystallize in a trigonal R3m space group. The trimeric [Fe2M(μ3-O)] core is coordinated by two TFBPDC2−, four BTB3−, and three water ligands ( Supporting Information Figure S1). Each [Fe2M(μ3-O)(COO)6] cluster is linked by four BTB3− ligands and two TFBPDC2− ligands to generate a three-dimensional (3D) framework. Exploration of the structure indicates the 3D framework contains two kinds of cages: a small octahedral cage formed from six [Fe2M(μ3-O)(COO)6] clusters, three TFBPDC2−, and four BTB3− ligands with a diameter of ∼12 Å (Figure 1c), and a large cage composed of 12 [Fe2M(μ3-O)(COO)6] clusters, six TFBPDC2−, and ten BTB3− ligands with a diameter of ∼26 Å, which can be described as a cuboctahedron (Figure 1d). Thus the 3D framework has close packing of the octahedral and cuboctahedral cages (Figure 1e). Such large voids in the cages in a single 3D framework lead to the generation of a twofold interpenetrated network (Figure 1f). It is remarkable that each octahedral cage is encapsulated by a large cuboctahedral cage from the interpenetrating network (Figure 1g). Such a unique cage-in-cage structure in a MOF is distinctive. The double-shell nested cages are reminiscent of the interesting Russian-doll-like cage. In addition, because of the presence of the highly polar C–F and C–O bonds and dense F atoms on the pore surfaces for these cages, double-shell nested cages exhibit highly polarized and fluorophilic character. As shown in Figure 1g, part of the voids in the large cuboctahedral cage are occupied by the small octahedral cage. The remaining pores of the total 3D framework are filled by the disordered guest solvent molecules, which occupy 64.1% and 65.6% of the volumes of unit cell for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co), respectively. JXNU-11(Fe2M) materials exhibit excellent chemical stability after exposure to air for a long time or immersion in water with pH values ranging from 3 to 11 for 24 h ( Supporting Information Figure S3). The solvent-free JXNU-11(Fe2M) was obtained through solvent-exchange and heat under vacuum ( Supporting Information Figure S4). Figure 1 | Structures of JXNU-11(Fe2M). (a) [Fe2M(μ3-O)(COO)6] unit and (b) TFBPDC2− and BTB3− ligands. (c) 3D framework of JXNU-11(Fe2M). (d) Octahedral and (e) cuboctahedral cages. (f) Twofold interpenetrating frameworks of JXNU-11(Fe2M). (g) Cage-in-cage structure in JXNU-11(Fe2M). The fluorine atoms in (b–d) are represented as green balls. Download figure Download PowerPoint The permanent porosity of JXNU-11(Fe2M) was confirmed by N2 adsorption isotherms at 77 K. The N2 sorption isotherms for both compounds have typical type I sorption behavior with the saturation sorption amounts of 561 and 556 cm3 g−1 (Figure 2a). The pore volumes for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co) from the experimental N2 data are 0.87 and 0.86 cm3 g−1, respectively, which are close to the corresponding crystal structure calculated values of 0.87 and 0.89 cm3 g−1. Additionally, the pore sizes are mainly around 6.8 and 11 Å (Figure 2a, inset), in good agreement with the obtained values from the crystal structures. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co) were calculated to be 2208 m2 g−1 (Langmuir surface area of 2418 m2 g−1) and 2122 m2 g−1 (Langmuir surface area of 2392 m2 g−1) ( Supporting Information Figure S5), respectively. Figure 2 | Adsorption data of JXNU-11(Fe2M). (a) N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms at 77 K and pore size distribution for JXNU-11(Fe2M). C2H2 and CO2 adsorption–desorption isotherms of JXNU-11(Fe2M) at 273 K (b) and 298 K (c). Download figure Download PowerPoint The C2H2 and CO2 sorption isotherms of JXNU-11(Fe2M) (Figures 2b and 2c) were collected to evaluate the gas separation potentials for JXNU-11(Fe2M). JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co) exhibit high C2H2 adsorption capacities of 191 and 180 cm3 g−1 at 273 K and 1 bar, respectively, which are higher than the best-performance MOFs, including FJU-6-TATB (160 cm3 g−1),55 ATU-Cu (134 cm3 g−1),33 ZJU-74a (107 cm3 g−1),42 JXNU-10(Y) (94.9 cm3 g−1),27 CuI@UIO-66-(COOH)2 (71 cm3 g−1),56 and MOF-OH (68.7 cm3 g−1).57 At 298 K, the adsorption amounts of C2H2 are 118 and 107 cm3 g−1 for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co), respectively, which are larger than those of the prominent MOFs FeNi-M′MOF (96 cm3 g−1),58 JNU-1 (63 cm3 g−1),59 NKMOF-1-Ni (61 cm3 g−1),60 UTSA-300a (69 cm3 g−1),47 and CPL-NH2 (41 cm3 g−1).39 In contrast, JXNU-11(Fe2M) showed low CO2 uptakes (Figures 2b and 2c). The high uptake of C2H2 is mainly caused by the polarized and fluorophilic microporous environments made of the cage-in-cage structures that are decorated with plenty of highly electronegative fluorine and carboxylate oxygen atoms that have high affinity for the acidic H atoms of C2H2 molecules but low affinity for CO2 molecules with two terminal electronegative O atoms. Such distinct gas sorption behaviors were confirmed by grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. As depicted in Figures 3a and 3b, the distribution of C2H2 molecules in JXNU-11(Fe2M) is mainly within the octahedral cage and the space between the two cages, whereas much fewer CO2 molecules were distributed within the double-shell nest. Such a phenomenon suggests the double-shell nest is the desirable space for accommodating C2H2 molecules, in agreement with the experimental finding. The linear adsorption isotherms for CO2 further suggest the low affinity to CO2 for the host frameworks. The different adsorption behaviors between C2H2 and CO2 were also evidenced by the isosteric heats of adsorption (Qst) ( Supporting Information Figure S6). The obtained Qst of C2H2 were in the range of 31.6–29.7 kJ mol−1 for JXNU-11(Fe2M), which are notably higher than those of CO2 (16.0–19.6 kJ mol−1), further reflecting the strong affinity toward C2H2. The present Qst(C2H2) values are comparable to those of FJU-6-TATB (29 kJ mol−1),55 UTSA-74 (31 kJ mol−1),37 and JXNU-5a (32.9 kJ mol−1),35 but lower than those of CuI@UIO-66-(COOH)2 (74.5 kJ mol−1),56 JNU-1 (47.6 kJ mol−1),59 and NKMOF-1-Ni (53.9 kJ mol−1).60 The evident difference in adsorption enthalpy endows JXNU-11(Fe2M) with the thermodynamic separation possibility of a C2H2/CO2 mixture. Furthermore, JXNU-11(Fe2M) retained C2H2 storage ability after adsorption/desorption cycling experiments ( Supporting Information Figure S7), confirming their excellent recyclability for C2H2 adsorption. Figure 3 | Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) adsorption simulation. Computational C2H2 (a) and CO2 (b) distribution in the double-shell nest in JXNU-11(Fe2M) at 298 K and 1 atm. Download figure Download PowerPoint To evaluate the separation performance of JXNU-11(Fe2M), ideal adsorbed solution theory was used to calculate the separation selectivity of the C2H2/CO2 (v∶v = 50∶50) mixture. At 1 bar and 298 K, the adsorption selectivities for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co) are 2.7 and 2.5, respectively ( Supporting Information Figure S8), which are comparable to the leading MOFs of UPC-200(Fe)-F-H2O (2.25)32 and FJU-6-TATB (3.1).55 The C2H2/CO2 uptake ratios for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co) at 298 K and 1 bar are 2.1 and 1.9, respectively, which are larger than those of noted MOFs FJU-90a (1.75),36 SIFSIX-Cu-TPA (1.7),49 and ATU-Cu (1.2).33The high C2H2 adsorption capacity and moderate selectivity of JXNU-11(Fe2M) at ambient temperature reveal the greatly promising potential for C2H2/CO2 separation. To further investigate the C2H2/CO2 separation performance of JXNU-11(Fe2M), the breakthrough experiments were performed in practical separation processes for a C2H2/CO2 mixture (v∶v = 50∶50) at 298 K and 1 atm. The breakthrough experimental results show that CO2 was eluted first from the packed column, whereas C2H2 was retained in the bed for more than 120 and 108 min g−1 for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co) (Figure 4a), respectively. The C2H2 breakthrough times for JXNU-11(Fe2M) rank among the leading MOFs ( Supporting Information Table S4). Moreover, the significant roll-up phenomenon of CO2 was observed in the breakthrough experiments, indicating a large proportion of previously adsorbed CO2 molecules can be replaced by the later fed C2H2 molecules. Such a phenomenon means that the C2H2 molecule competes better than CO2 for the binding sites of JXNU-11(Fe2M), highlighting the excellent separation efficiency of JXNU-11(Fe2M) for a C2H2/CO2 mixture. The breakthrough experiments were terminated when the concentrations of effluent gases stabilized. Figure 4 | C2H2 and CO2 separation performances. (a) Breakthrough curves of JXNU-11(Fe2M) at the flow of 2 mL min−1, 298 K, and 1 atm. Breakthrough curves of JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) at different temperatures (b) and different total flow rates at 298 K (c). Download figure Download PowerPoint The captured amounts for C2H2 during the 0∼tbreak time under the dynamic conditions are 4.8 and 4.3 mmol g−1 for JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) and JXNU-11(Fe2Co), respectively. The C2H2 captured amounts are remarkable and outperform all other MOFs, including the top-performing ZJU-74a (3.64 mmol g−1),42 SNNU-45 (3.5 mmol g−1),41 BSF-3 (2.9 mmol g−1),38 JCM-1 (2.2 mmol g−1),61 and FJU-90a (1.87 mmol g−1)36 (Figure 5 and Supporting Information Table S4). In addition, a long interval time of 55 min g−1 between C2H2 and CO2 breakthrough for JXNU-10(Fe2Ni) was obtained. Such an interval time stands out amongst MOFs and is only shorter than those of SNNU-45 (79 min g−1)41 and SIFSIX-Cu-TPA (69 min g−1).49 Furthermore, their practical separation potentials under different temperatures were evaluated. The C2H2 breakthrough times increased significantly with a decrease of temperature (Figure 4b and Supporting information Figure S9). The breakthrough times of C2H2 reached 146 (283 K) and 165 min g−1 (273 K) with a gas flow of 2 mL min−1. Figure 5 | Experimental breakthrough performance. Comparison of MOFs with top-high C2H2/CO2 breakthrough performance at 298 K and 1 atm. Download figure Download PowerPoint The separation performance of JXNU-11(Fe2M) with different gas flow rates at 298 K were also studied. With the gas flow of 2 mL min−1, the longest C2H2 breakthrough time and the largest amount of the adsorbed C2H2 were achieved for JXNU-11(Fe2M) (Figure 4c and Supporting Information Figure S10). JXNU-11(Fe2M) exhibited no appreciable changes in breakthrough times after three cycles of dynamic breakthrough experiments ( Supporting Information Figure S11), indicative of an excellent recycling separation capability. With the advantage of the modest adsorption heat of C2H2, JXNU-11(Fe2M) materials can be easily regenerated through purging the column with He gas at ambient temperature, as evidenced by the overlapped breakthrough curves ( Supporting Information Figure S11). Such results further indicate JXNU-11(Fe2M) are highly desirable microporous materials for C2H2/CO2 separation. Finally, the desorption experiments were carried out on JXNU-11(Fe2Ni). After reaching the breakthrough equilibrium, the adsorption column was purged with He gas (flow rate: 4 mL min−1) under ambient pressure and 303 K. As depicted in Figure 6a, the adsorbed CO2 molecules were released from the adsorption bed quickly. In contrast, the desorption of C2H2 gas was much slower. The productivity of C2H2 with over 95% purity was estimated from the desorption curve to be 1.98 mmol for 1 g of JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) (Figure 6b). Figure 6 | Breakthrough experiments. (a) and (b) Breakthrough curves and desorption curves of JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) based on the equimolar C2H2/CO2 mixture. Download figure Download PowerPoint To fully understand the underlying mechanism of the preferential adsorption of C2H2 over CO2 in JXNU-11(Fe2M), we performed comprehensive GCMC simulations to investigate the gas adsorption sites for JXNU-11(Fe2M). The calculated preferential binding sites of C2H2 are shown in Figures 7a and 7b. Four primary binding sites (sites I–IV) for C2H2 were found. As expected, the primary binding sites for C2H2 molecules are F and carboxylate O sites. For site I, site II, and site III, strong C−H···F hydrogen bonding notably occur between C2H2 and F atoms (H···F = 2.49–3.01 Å), which confirms the strong binding affinity of JXNU-11(Fe2M) toward C2H2. Compared with these sites, site IV exhibits strong C−H⋯O hydrogen bonds with a pair of carboxylate O atoms with the distances of 2.61 and 2.60 Å. These H⋯F and H⋯O distances are shorter than the sums of the corresponding van der Waals radii of hydrogen and fluorine (2.67 Å) or hydrogen and oxygen (2.72 Å) atoms, suggesting the substantial interactions. Moreover, the C≡C group of C2H2 interacts with the adjacent open metal sites through π⋯M interactions, and weakly interacts with the neighboring aromatic ring units of the framework through π⋯π interactions. Thus these multiple interactions between C2H2 molecules and the framework synergistically result in the remarkable affinity for C2H2. Therefore, the nanosized double-shell nests with many highly electronegative F and O atoms provide the polarized and fluorophilic pore spaces to accommodate C2H2. In contrast, the negatively charged F and O sites are not desirable sites for CO2. The presence of the repulsive interactions between the F/O atoms and the O atoms of CO2 leads to a weaker interaction between CO2 and the framework, which is consistent with the experimental results. The computational results gave an average binding energy of 31.8 kJ mol−1 for C2H2, which is much higher than that of 20.9 kJ mol−1 for CO2, further corroborating the stronger affinity toward C2H2 in the present framework. These calculated results clearly reveal that the rich F and O atoms as well as the open metal sites in the cage-in-cage structures are synergistically responsible for the preferential adsorption of C2H2 over CO2, thus affording the top-level C2H2/CO2 separation performance of JXNU-11(Fe2M). Figure 7 | Mechanism study. adsorption sites of C2H2 in JXNU-11(Fe2M). (a) I and (b) and Ni F and O in and H in C2H2. The labeled is measured in Å. Download figure Download PowerPoint two MOFs M = Ni and featuring nanosized structures and highly polarized and fluorophilic pore Such a cage-in-cage structure formed is composed of an and an large The double-shell nested cages in the MOFs provide the fascinating and the optimized pore spaces for trapping C2H2. The abundant F and O atoms of the organic ligands in JXNU-11(Fe2M) JXNU-11(Fe2M) with multiple binding sites for C2H2. The F and O atoms possessing high in JXNU-11(Fe2M) the pore surfaces of the cages result in the highly dense on the pore which are the desirable sites for trapping C2H2 with charged H atoms. As a JXNU-11(Fe2M) shows a strong binding affinity to C2H2 over CO2. The nanosized double-shell cages in JXNU-11(Fe2M) afford the optimized pore spaces for trapping C2H2, leading to an efficient C2H2/CO2 separation. The practical breakthrough performance of JXNU-11(Fe2Ni) the breakthrough time for C2H2 gas and the C2H2-capture the highest observed at ambient confirming the C2H2/CO2 separation performance of JXNU-11(Fe2M) Thus we a strategy for the design of cage-in-cage structures in MOFs and develop an efficient for the of the highly polarized and fluorophilic pore cages in the fluorous Supporting Information Supporting Information is and detailed experimental crystal data for JXNU-11(Fe2M), adsorption column breakthrough experiments, and GCMC simulation. of is no of to Information This work is by the of and and the for and of of Jiangxi of and of Acetylene and by the of K. Chemistry and of Metal–Organic and of Frameworks to MOF and on Adsorption in a as the in the of the Chemistry of and Metal–Organic Frameworks and Zhang of Frameworks Featuring Separation Metal–Organic Frameworks and for of Surfaces by in Synthesis of in a

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently attracted intense research interest because of their permanent porous structures, large surface areas, and potential applications as novel adsorbents. The recent progress in adsorption-based CO(2) capture by MOFs is reviewed and summarized in this critical review. CO(2) adsorption in MOFs has been divided into two sections, adsorption at high pressures and selective adsorption at approximate atmospheric pressures. Keys to CO(2) adsorption in MOFs at high pressures and low pressures are summarized to be pore volumes of MOFs, and heats of adsorption, respectively. Many MOFs have high CO(2) selectivities over N(2) and CH(4). Water effects on CO(2) adsorption in MOFs are presented and compared with benchmark zeolites. In addition, strategies appeared in the literature to enhance CO(2) adsorption capacities and/or selectivities in MOFs have been summarized into three main categories, catenation and interpenetration, chemical bonding enhancement, and electrostatic force involvement. Besides the advantages, two main challenges of using MOFs in CO(2) capture, the cost of synthesis and the stability toward water vapor, have been analyzed and possible solutions and path forward have been proposed to address the two challenges as well (150 references).

Here, we designed a double-solvent/host-guest redox combined strategy to construct Cu+ sites in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the first time. As a proof of concept, a representative MOF MIL-100(Fe) with tunable valence states of cations was employed as the host. The combined strategy realizes selective introduction of Cu2+ precursors to the interior pores of MIL-100(Fe), remarkably minimizing the aggregation of Cu2+ and subsequently formed Cu+ species. Owing to the proper reducibility of in situ formed Fe2+ in the frameworks, controlled conversation of Cu2+ to Cu+ with ∼100% yield is achieved in the absence of any additional reducing agents. These characteristics make the obtained materials Cu+-modified MIL-100(Fe) highly active in selective CO adsorption. The CO adsorption capacity is up to 3.75 mmol·g-1 at 298 K and 1 bar, which is superior to all other Cu+-containing adsorbents reported so far such as CuCl/activated carbon (2.5 mmol·g-1), CuCl/γ-Al2O3 (1.0 mmol·g-1), and CuCl/SBA-15 (0.50 mmol·g-1). The same adsorbent also exhibits quite high selectivity of CO over N2, and the ideal adsorption solution theory selectivity reaches 424. The outstanding CO adsorption performance make the present adsorbents great potential in separation of CO from various mixtures.

The industrial revolution during the twentieth century has caused a drastic increase in global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is the main constituent of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) which cause global warming. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has reached 414.83 ppm. This high CO2 level in the atmosphere has far-ranging effects on health and the environment. CO2 traps heat and hence causes climate change. Respiratory diseases are also caused by a high level of CO2. Various approaches are under consideration to control the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. Conventional methods for CO2 capture include physical adsorption, absorption, cryogenic distillation, and membrane gas separation. Novel material has been explored for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Ionic liquids (ILs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are some of these materials. ILs represent a class of materials consisting entirely of ions and are at a liquid state below 100 °C. ILs emerged as exciting materials for CO2 capture and conversion to valuable products because of their non-volatile nature, structure-tunability, and high CO2 adsorption capacity. Similarly, MOFs have gained tremendous attention from researchers in the field of CCS. MOFs are compounds having metal ions or clusters connected through organic ligands to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures. MOFs are porous materials with ultra-high porosity, low mass to volume ratio, high surface area, high thermal and chemical stability, and adjustable functionalities. This chapter starts with a brief introduction of existing carbon capture technologies and is followed by an introduction to ILs, their CO2 solubility, and selectivity. The transport properties of ILs and mixed solvents used for CO2 capture have also been discussed. Furthermore, a brief history of MOFs and criteria for MOFs selection for environmental applications have been described as well. MOFs’ adsorption capacity and selectivity for CO2, and their physical, thermal, and chemical stability have also been presented. The applications of MOFs for wastewater treatment and CO2 capture have also been discussed.KeywordsGlobal warmingGreenhouse gases (GHGs)Carbon-dioxide capture and storage (CCS)Ionic Liquids (ILs)Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)

In this work, a systematic molecular simulation study was performed to compare the separation of CO2/N2 and CH4/N2 mixtures in two different classes of nanoporous materials, zeolites, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). For this purpose, three zeolites (MFI, LTA, and DDR) and seven MOFs (Cu-BTC, MIL-47 (V), IRMOF-1, IRMOF-12, IRMOF-14, IRMOF-11, and IRMOF-13) were chosen as the representatives to compare. On the basis of the validated force fields, both adsorption selectivity and pure CO2 and CH4 adsorption isotherms were simulated. The results show that although MOFs perform much better for gas storage, their separation performance is comparable to zeolites; for the systems with the preferable component having a larger quadrupolar moment, both zeolites and MOFs can enhance the separation selectivity, and in contrast they both reduce the selectivity. In addition, we show that ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) gives a very reasonable prediction of the mixture adsorption isotherms both in zeolites and in MOFs if the pure component isotherms are known. We demonstrate that the difference in quadrupolar moment of the components is an important property that has to be considered in the selection of a membrane material.

Removal and sequestration of CO2 from flue gas has been proposed as one of the most reliable solutions to mitigate globe greenhouse emissions. Adsorption technology based on porous adsorbent is known to be one of the most efficient processes for the CO2 capture from flue gas. The key issue of this technology is to find the adsorbent with high adsorption capacity and selectivity for CO2. In this chapter, both the experimental and the computer simulation works about the CO2 adsorption behavior on porous materials in our laboratory were introduced. In the experimental works, the mesoporous materials such as MCM-41 and SBA-15 were selected as the fundamental adsorbent. After surface modification by aminosilane, the amine groups became active centers and the CO2 adsorption capacity was obviously increased due to the chemisorption. It is shown that the dual amine groups of AEAPMDS had better effect on CO2 adsorption than the single amine group of APTS. The best CO2 adsorption capacity of MCM-41-AEAPMDS was 2.20 mmol·g-1 at room temperature. Another effective way was incorporation metal Mg into the mesoporous materials. By various impregnating or doping methods, such as the co-condensation, the dispersion with the enhancement of Al3+ or amine, and the ionic exchange, a suitable amount of Mg2+ can be successfully introduced into MCM-41 and SBA-15, which effectively increased the CO2 adsorption capacity. Different pore structures had their corresponding optimized methods, the real reason behind was the highly dispersed MgO state in the channels. The best CO2 adsorption capacities of Mg-Al-SBA-15-D1 and Mg-EDA-MCM-41-D10 were about 1.35 mmol·g-1. In the simulation works, some novel porous materials such as the micro/mesoporous composite, the covalent organic frameworks, the metal organic framework and the zeolitic imidazolate frameworks were selected as the potential adsorbents for the CO2 capture. The CO2 adsorption behavior of the zeoilte of MFI, the mesoporous MCM-41 and the micro/mesoporous composite of MFI/MCM-41 were simulated and compared. It is revealed that the micro/mesoporous composite had better performances on the CO2 adsorption capacity and selectivity at high pressure, as well as the diffusion performance.

Synthesis and property modification of MCM-41 composited with Cu(BDC) MOF for improvement of CO2 adsorption Selectivity

Exceptional CO2 and H2S adsorption by tuning micro/mesopore ratios with embedded graphene oxide/N-doped carbon quantum dots in MIL-101(Cr): Experimental and computational insights.

As kerogen is the main organic component in shale, the adsorption capacity, diffusion and permeability of the gas in kerogen plays an important role in shale gas production. Based on the molecular model of type II kerogen, an organic nanoporous structure was established. The Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) methods were used to study the adsorption and diffusion capacity of mixed gas systems with different mole ratios of CO2 and CH4 in the foregoing nanoporous structure, and gas adsorption, isosteric heats of adsorption and self-diffusion coefficient were obtained. The selective permeation of gas components in the organic pores was further studied. The results show that CO2 and CH4 present physical adsorption in the organic nanopores. The adsorption capacity of CO2 is larger than that of CH4 in organic pores, but the self-diffusion coefficient of CH4 in mixed gas is larger than that of CO2. Moreover, the self-diffusion coefficient in the horizontal direction is larger than that in the vertical direction. The mixed gas pressure and mole ratio have limited effects on the isosteric heat and the self-diffusion of CH4 and CO2 adsorption. Regarding the analysis of mixed gas selective permeation, it is concluded that the adsorption selectivity of CO2 is larger than that of CH4 in the organic nanopores. The larger the CO2/CH4 mole ratio, the greater the adsorption and permeation selectivity of mixed gas in shale. The permeation process is mainly controlled by adsorption rather than diffusion. These results are expected to reveal the adsorption and diffusion mechanism of gas in shale organics, which has a great significance for further research.

The separation of ammonia from H2/N2/NH3 mixtures is an important step in ammonia decomposition for hydrogen production and ammonia synthesis from H2 and N2 based nonaqueous technologies. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are considered as potential materials for capturing ammonia. In the present work, high-throughput screening of 2932 Computation-Ready Experimental MOFs (CoRE MOFs) was carried out for ammonia capture from H2/N2/NH3 mixtures by Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. It was found that the high-performing MOFs are characterized by tube-like channels, moderate LCD (largest cavity diameter) (4–7.5 Å), and high Qst0(NH3) (the isosteric heat of NH3 adsorption) (>45 kJ/mol). MOFs with high NH3 adsorption capacity often feature moderate surface area, while the surface area of MOFs with high NH3 selectivity is relatively lower, which limits the NH3 adsorption capacity. Qst0 and the Henry’s constant (KH) are two energy descriptors describing the interactions between adsorbents and adsorbates. The former has a stronger correlation with the adsorption selectivity, while the latter has a stronger correlation with the adsorption capacity. By analyzing the molecular density distribution of adsorbates in high-performing MOFs, it was found that unsaturated coordinated metal sites provide the main functional binding sites for NH3. Most MOFs with high NH3 selectivity have multiple different metal nodes or other atoms except C, O, and H, such as N and P. Multiple metal nodes and nonmetallic atoms provide more functional binding sites. Finally, the adsorption behavior with various concentrations of gas mixtures was examined to verify the universality of the screening calculations, and the effect of framework flexibility on adsorption performance was explored.

Rising CO2 levels, largely from flue gas emissions, are a significant contributor to global climate change. Adsorption using Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) offers a promising solution for CO2 capture due to their high surface area, tunable porosity, and selectivity. To streamline the discovery of efficient MOFs, we developed a high-throughput virtual screening (HTVS) pipeline by integrating Grand-Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations, molecular modeling and machine learning. We screened a filtered subset of the CoREMOF database and a user-defined hypothetical MOF bank to identify candidates with high CO2 adsorption capacity and selectivity. This approach yielded several high-performing MOFs, including five from the CoREMOF dataset and a new structure from the hypothetical bank exceeding the performance of existing MOFs. Our findings highlight the complex relationship between MOF geometries and CO2 capture performance, emphasizing the importance of features like open metal sites and pore geometry. This computational framework accelerates MOF discovery and provides valuable insights for experimental synthesis. Future work will focus on expanding the hypothetical MOF dataset, improving simulation accuracy, and employing advanced optimization techniques to enhance the screening process.