Efficient propyne/propadiene separation by microporous crystalline physiadsorbents.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34599179.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-25980-y and PMC identifier 8486746.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Selective separation of propyne/propadiene mixture to obtain pure propadiene (allene), an essential feedstock for organic synthesis, remains an unsolved challenge in the petrochemical industry, thanks mainly to their similar physicochemical properties. We herein introduce a convenient and energy-efficient physisorptive approach to achieve propyne/propadiene separation using microporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Specifically, HKUST-1, one of the most widely studied high surface area MOFs that is available commercially, is found to exhibit benchmark performance (propadiene production up to 69.6 cm<sup>3</sup>/g, purity > 99.5%) as verified by dynamic breakthrough experiments. Experimental and modeling studies provide insight into the performance of HKUST-1 and indicate that it can be attributed to a synergy between thermodynamics and kinetics that arises from abundant open metal sites and cage-based molecular traps in HKUST-1.