Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Versatile CO2 Transformations into Complex Products: A One-pot Two-step Strategy
Published on: November 9, 2019
General pore features for one-step C2H4 production from a C2 hydrocarbon mixture
Tao Zhang1, Jian-Wei Cao1, Shu-Yi Zhang1
1Key Laboratory of Special Functional and Smart Polymer Materials of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xi'an Key Laboratory of Functional Organic Porous Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, China. wychem@nwpu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Herein, we propose the required general pore features for one-step C2H4 production from a C2 hydrocarbon mixture, such as: (i) a non-metallic binding site; (ii) polar pore surface; and (iii) narrow pocket. Four representative MOFs (Ni-BDC-INA, CPM-173, UiO-66, and DMOF-1) and two counterexamples (MOF-74-Co and IISERP-MOF2) were selected to verify this concept, by conducting single-component gas adsorption measurements, multiple-component breakthrough experiments, and molecular simulations. The established pore features are a stepping-stone for the design and synthesis of new MOFs with improved performance for C2H4 separation.
Related Concept Videos
Benzene to Phenol via Cumene: Hock Process
Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...
Reduction of Benzene to Cyclohexane: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Hydroboration-Oxidation of Alkenes

