Efficient separation of xylene isomers by a guest-responsive metal–organic framework with rotational anionic sites

91Citations
Citations of this article
46Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The separation of xylene isomers (para-, meta-, orth-) remains a great challenge in the petrochemical industry due to their similar molecular structure and physical properties. Porous materials with sensitive nanospace and selective binding sites for discriminating the subtle structural difference of isomers are urgently needed. Here, we demonstrate the adaptively molecular discrimination of xylene isomers by employing a NbOF52−-pillared metal–organic framework (NbOFFIVE-bpy-Ni, also referred to as ZU-61) with rotational anionic sites. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies indicate that ZU-61 with guest-responsive nanospace/sites can adapt the shape of specific isomers through geometric deformation and/or the rotation of fluorine atoms in anionic sites, thereby enabling ZU-61 to effectively differentiate xylene isomers through multiple C–H···F interactions. ZU-61 exhibited both high meta-xylene uptake capacity (3.4 mmol g−1) and meta-xylene/para-xylene separation selectivity (2.9, obtained from breakthrough curves), as well as a favorable separation sequence as confirmed by breakthrough experiments: para-xylene elute first with high-purity (≥99.9%), then meta-xylene, and orth-xylene. Such a remarkable performance of ZU-61 can be attributed to the type anionic binding sites together with its guest-response properties.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Cui, X., Niu, Z., Shan, C., Yang, L., Hu, J., Wang, Q., … Xing, H. (2020). Efficient separation of xylene isomers by a guest-responsive metal–organic framework with rotational anionic sites. Nature Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19209-7

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free