An ultra-stable layered microporous material for efficient separation of humid ethane/ethylene mixture

An ultra-stable layered microporous material with rhombic nonpolar channels realizes efficient separation of ethane/ethylene mixtures under humid conditions. [Display omitted] •By employing a V-shaped aromatic pyrazole ligand and zinc ions, a layered framework (termed as Zn-BPDP) has been successfully synthesized.•Zn-BPDP has nonpolar pore surrounded by four aromatic rings and shows greater interactions between the pore channel and C2H6 than those for C2H4.•The breakthrough experiments demonstrate that the mixture of C2H6/C2H4 (1/99, 1/15, 10/90 and 50/50) can be efficiently separated by Zn-BPDP.•Zn-BPDP displays outstanding stability, which endows it excellent cycle performance even under high humidity conditions. Efficient one-step separation of ethylene (C2H4) and ethane (C2H6) is an indispensable and challenging task in petrochemical industry. Herein, we employ a V-shaped pyrazole ligand and zinc ions in tetrahedral configuration to synthesize a layered framework (termed as Zn-BPDP) with rhombic nonpolar channels, which can realize one-step purification of C2H4 from C2H6/C2H4 mixture. The high C2H6/C2H4 selectivity of Zn-BPDP has been supported by collaborative studies of single-component adsorption isotherms, adsorption heat calculation, ideal adsorption solution theory and theoretical calculation. The breakthrough experiments demonstrate that the mixture of C2H6/C2H4 (1/99, 1/15, 10/90 and 50/50) can be efficiently separated by Zn-BPDP. More importantly, Zn-BPDP displays outstanding stability in air, high thermal, organic solvents and water, which endows it excellent cycle performance even under high humidity conditions.