Self-Interpenetrated Water-Stable Microporous Metal-Organic Framework toward Storage and Purification of Light...

Storage and purification of light hydrocarbons are very meaningful for their high-purity requirements and safety utilization in the fields of industry and clean energy. It is a simple and effective way to achieve this goal utilizing the physical adsorption properties of stable porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In this work, a stable self-interpenetrated three-dimensional MOF with a new 3,4-connected topology, {[Zn₂(tpda)₂(4,4'-bpy)]·4DMF} (NKM-101; H₂tpda = 4,4'-[4-(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)phenyl]dibenzoic acid, 4,4'-bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine, and DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide), has been successfully constructed based on a triazole-carboxyl ligand. The dense functional active sites existing on the inner walls of one-dimensional channels of NKM-101 are beneficial to enhancement of the binding affinities between the framework and specific molecules (CO₂, C₂-C₄). Therefore, the selective adsorption and separation performance of the material on CO₂/CH₄ and C₂-C₄/CH₄ are effectively improved. In addition, NKM-101 also exhibits excellent water stability, making it possible to be a practical material for the storage and purification of light hydrocarbons.