Self-diffusion of pure and mixed gases in mixed-linker zeolitic imidazolate framework-7-8 by high field diffusion NMR

Self-diffusion of pure gases including carbon dioxide, methane, ethylene, ethane, and xenon as well as selected two-component mixtures was studied in hybrid zeolitic imidazolate framework-7-8 (ZIF-7-8) crystals using pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR. This material was formed by mixing 2-methylimidazolate (ZIF-8 linker) and bulkier benzimidazolate (ZIF-7 linker) in the same framework. The intracrystalline diffusion data measured in mixed-linker ZIF-7-8 was compared with the corresponding data in the parent ZIF-8 material. It was found that under the same or comparable experimental conditions the intracrystalline gas diffusion was always slower in ZIF-7-8 than in ZIF-8. This observation is consistent with the expected lower pore aperture size in ZIF-7-8 than in ZIF-8. At the same time, the ethane/ethylene diffusion selectivity was found to be similar in both ZIFs. It was also observed that for the pure studied gases larger than carbon dioxide the diffusivity ratios in ZIF-8 and ZIF-7-8 do not increase with increasing gas size at all loading pressures used. All these data are attributed to greater framework flexibility effects in ZIF-7-8 than ZIF-8. Such effects manifest themselves in a distortion and/or increase in the aperture size in the presence of large sorbates due to linker flexibility.