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Updated: May 27, 2025

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
Published on: January 9, 2014
A Zn-Cluster-Based MOF for Efficient Separation of C3H8/C2H6/CH4
Yue Wang1, Yujie Lai1, Jieyu Liu2
1College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, China.
Abstract:
The separation and purification of methane from natural gas are crucial chemical processes. Herein, we report a Zn-cluster-based MOF (SDMOF-3), enabling the efficient separation of mixed low-carbon alkanes. The unique Zn clusters in the MOF enhance its interaction with hydrogen atoms in alkanes, thus realizing the separation of saturated light alkanes. Single-component gas adsorption tests revealed that SDMOF-3 exhibits significantly higher affinity for C3H8 compared to CH4 and C2H6 at 298 K. Dynamic column penetration experiments with mixed gases demonstrated the excellent separation performance of SDMOF-3 for separating C3H8 and C2H6 from CH4.
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