Metal-organic frameworks for hydrocarbon separation: design, progress, and challenges
High-purity hydrocarbons are of great importance in various fields, including the electronics and chemical industries; however, the separation of hydrocarbons can be difficult because of their structural and chemical similarities. The established industrial practices of separating hydrocarbons usual...
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| Published in | Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 11; no. 38; pp. 2459 - 2469 |
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| Main Authors | , , , |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
Cambridge
Royal Society of Chemistry
04.10.2023
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| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | High-purity hydrocarbons are of great importance in various fields, including the electronics and chemical industries; however, the separation of hydrocarbons can be difficult because of their structural and chemical similarities. The established industrial practices of separating hydrocarbons usually involve energy-intensive procedures such as low-temperature distillation. Adsorptive separation using porous materials is deemed a promising alternative technology due to its potential to significantly reduce energy consumption. Porous materials, MOFs in particular, offer versatility in terms of their synthesis and structural design that can be facilely customized to meet the requirements of specific applications. By tailoring pore dimensions, surface functionality, and framework flexibility, MOF materials exhibit high selectivity for specific molecules in the separation and purification of hydrocarbons. With the rapid advances in reticular chemistry and crystal engineering, researchers have gained deep insight into the directional stitching of diverse building blocks, paving the way for the design of tailor-made MOF materials. This perspective summarizes three main strategies for developing MOFs for hydrocarbon separation: surface engineering, molecular docking, and size exclusion. In addition, the prospects of MOF materials for hydrocarbon separation are discussed, including future directions of addressing the challenges (barriers) for MOF sorbents to be competitive in practical applications, such as adsorption capacity and selectivity, stability, regenerability, scalability and cost-effectiveness, and industrial implementation.
Energy-efficient hydrocarbon separation is of great significance. In this perspective, we discuss three main strategies in the design of MOF materials for hydrocarbon separation: surface engineering, molecular docking, and size exclusion. |
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| Bibliography: | Weigang Lu obtained his PhD in organic chemistry (2002) and stayed as a lecturer at Sun Yat-Sen University (2002-2005). After a visiting scholar stint at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (2005-2008), he joined Texas A&M University as an assistant research scientist in Prof. Hong-Cai Zhou's group (2008-2015). He started independent research as a research specialist at Fayetteville State University (2016-2018) and now he is a professor of chemistry at Jinan University (2018-Present). His research interest focuses on the rational design and synthesis of porous materials for energy-related applications. and Mater. Adv. Heng Zeng received his PhD degree in chemistry from Jinan University in 2022. His research work is focused on the development of multifunctional metal-organic frameworks and hydrogen-bonding organic frameworks for their applications in gas storage, separation, and sensors. since mid-2022. Dan Li received his BSc from Sun Yat-Sen University in 1984 and then worked at Shantou University. He pursued his PhD at The University of Hong Kong with Professor Chi-Ming Che during 1988-1993. Then he returned to Shantou University and became a Professor in 2001. He moved to Jinan University in Guangzhou in 2016. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China in 2008 and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) in 2014. His research interest is the design and fabrication of supramolecular coordination assemblies and their functions including photoluminescence, porosity and chirality. He has been serving as an Associate Editor of J. Mater. Chem. A Xiao-Jing Xie joined Prof. Dan Li's group at Jinan University as a PhD student in 2021. She completed her B.S. degree at the College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jinan University, in 2020. Her current research interests are the design and application of metal-organic frameworks for hydrocarbon separation. |
| ISSN: | 2050-7488 2050-7496 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/d3ta03852a |