Tailoring a MOF-based adsorbent with partitioned aliphatic pore spaces for efficient CH4 purification from natural gas

Separation of CH 4 from natural gas is an essential but extremely challenging process in the petrochemical industry. Here, we tailored a MOF-based adsorbent with partitioned aliphatic pore spaces through the simultaneous incorporation of the aliphatic sites and the symmetrically matched partition agent. The resulting adsorbent demonstrates exceptional adsorption capacity for C 3 H 8 and C 2 H 6 compared to CH 4 , along with remarkably competitive adsorption selectivities for C 3 H 8 /CH 4 and C 2 H 6 /CH 4 . Breakthrough experiments further support the excellent dynamic separation efficiency of the adsorbent for the purification of CH 4 from natural gas. Moreover, detailed density functional theory calculations and molecular simulations elucidate the synergistic interactions between the aliphatic sites and the partitioned pore spaces within the adsorbent, which promote the stronger binding affinities for C 3 H 8 and C 2 H 6 over CH 4 .