Direct Ethylene Purification from a Four-Component Gas Mixture by a Microporous MOF with Aromatic Pore Surface and Carboxylates.

The single-step purification of ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) from a mixture of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), acetylene (C 2 H 2 ), ethylene (C 2 H 4 ), and ethane (C 2 H 6 ) was achieved through MOF Compound-1 , where the aromatic pore surface and carboxylates selectively recognized C 2 H 6 and CO 2 , respectively, resulting in a reversal of the adsorption orders for both gases (C 2 H 6 > C 2 H 4 and CO 2 > C 2 H 4 ). Breakthrough testing verified that the C 2 H 4 purification ability could be enhanced 2.6 times after adding impure CO 2 . Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations demonstrate that there are interactions between CO 2 and C 2 H 6 molecules as well as between CO 2 molecules themselves. These interactions contribute to the enhancement of the C 2 H 4 purification ability upon the addition of CO 2 and the increased adsorption of CO 2 .