Fine Tuning Metal-Organic Frameworks with Halogen Functional Groups for Ethylene Purification

One-step C2H4 purification from a mixture of C2H2/C2H4/C2H6 could be achieved by metal-organic framework (MOF) NTUniv-70 with an F-functional group. The selectivities of C2H4/C2H6 and C2H4/C2H2 of NTUnvi-70 based on ideal adsorbed solution theory were at least twice that of the original MOF platform, which was in line with the enthalpy of adsorption (Q(st)) and breakthrough testing. Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations indicated that the C-HF interactions played an important role in enhanced C2H4/C2H6 and C2H4/C2H2 adsorption selectivities.