A new boron cluster anion pillared metal organic framework with ligand inclusion and its selective acetylene capture properties

The separation of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) is important in industry but challenging due to their similar physical properties. Herein, a novel microporous boron cluster pillared metal-organic framework BSF-10 was synthesized with ligand inclusion for efficient C 2 H 2 /CO 2 and C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 adsorption separation. The free dipyridyl ligands in the large pore reduce the porosity of BSF-10 but stabilize the framework. The available narrow pores without inclusion of ligands are suited for the accommodation of C 2 H 2 by cooperative dihydrogen bonding. High C 2 H 2 capacity and high C 2 H 2 selectivity over CO 2 and C 2 H 4 are achieved. The practical separation ability was confirmed by the breakthroughs using C 2 H 2 /CO 2 and C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 gas mixtures with good recyclability. The dynamic separation factor of 2.8 for the equimolar C 2 H 2 /CO 2 mixture is comparable to those of many benchmark materials. A novel microporous boron cluster pillared metal-organic framework BSF-10 was synthesized with ligand inclusion for efficient C 2 H 2 /CO 2 and C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 adsorption separation.