Porous MOF Featuring 2D Intersecting Channels Based on a Pentanuclear Mn 5 (COO) 10 CO 3 Cluster with Upgrading of Pipeline Natural Gas.

Natural gas plays a crucial role in daily and industrial production, but the impurities contained in natural gas limit its further use. It is very important to develop adsorbents that can separate CH 4 from multicomponent mixtures, but there are still many challenges and problems. Herein, a novel porous MOF {[Mn 5 (pbdia) 2 (CO 3 )(H 2 O) 2 ] ↔ 5H 2 O ↔ 2DMF} n (pbdia = 2,2'-(5-carboxy-1,3-phenylene)bis(oxy) diterephthalic acid) was successfully synthesized based on a flexible pentacarboxylic acid ligand and a unique pentanuclear Mn 5 (COO) 10 CO 3 cluster. The MOF reveals a 3D porous structure with 2D intersecting channels, which shows high C 3 H 8 , C 2 H 6 , and CO 2 adsorption capacities and affinities over CH 4 . Moreover, the ideal adsorption solution theory selectivities of C 3 H 8 /CH 4 , C 2 H 6 /CH 4 , and CO 2 /CH 4 can reach 263.0, 27.0, and 7.7, respectively, suggesting a potential for removing the low content of C 3 H 8 , C 2 H 6 , and CO 2 from pipeline natural gas, which was further confirmed by breakthrough curves and GCMC simulations.