Graphene-inspired porous polymer network for ethane/ethylene separation and methane purification.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41896563.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-70471-7.
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Abstract
C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> are essential for industrial applications. However, contamination with other natural gases is a challenge to their utilization. Although several sorbents have been investigated, their performance remains limited. This study introduces graphene-inspired, PPN-20, a porous polymer network (PPN) capable of separating C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>/C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> and purifying CH<sub>4</sub> from a C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub>/C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> mixture in a single step. The ultra-microporosity of PPN-20 enables preferential C-H···π interactions with C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub> and C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub>. As a result, PPN-20 exhibits a C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub> and C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub> uptake of 3.93 mmol/g and 5.98 mmol/g, respectively, at 298 K and 1 bar, representing the highest reported for any PPN. It achieves ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) selectivities of 2.2 for C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>/C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>, 368.2 for C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub>, 40.14 for C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub>/C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>, and 294,336 for C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub>. This selectivity, to the best of our knowledge, is the highest reported for any PPN in the case of C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>/C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> separation and for any sorbent in the cases of C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub>, C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub>/C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>, and C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> separation. Robustness tests, including breakthrough experiments, IAST calculations, etc., demonstrate the reliability of PPN-20. Its exceptional performance is attributed to precisely engineered pore sizes that enhance the trapping of guest molecules. These results will pave the way for the design of PPNs for short-chain hydrocarbon purification.