One-step ethylene purification from ternary mixtures by an ultramicroporous material with synergistic binding centers

Developing advanced porous materials with industrial potential to separate multicomponent gas mixtures that are structurally similar is a crucial but challenging task. Here, we report the efficient one-step separation of ethylene (C₂H₄) from acetylene (C₂H₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) using an ultramicroporous metal-organic framework UTSA-16. The synergistic effect of the polarized carboxyl groups and coordinated water molecules in its pore channel enables the material to have high uptakes for C₂H₂ and CO₂ due to electrostatic potential matching, as well as excellent separation selectivity against C₂H₄. Breakthrough experiments suggest that UTSA-16 can efficiently separate 99.9% pure C₂H₄ from ternary mixtures with a high productivity of 403 L kg^-1. Moreover, the preparation cost of UTSA-16 is significantly lower than other related adsorbents by 40-2000 times, indicating its unique potential for industrial applications.