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[Cu-MOF] Integrated High Water Affinity and Size Exclusion Effect on Robust Cu-Based MOFs for Efficient Ethanol−Water Separation
Summary:
The authors from Tianjin University and Tiangong University developed a robust Cu-triazole metal−organic framework (Cu-Tria) with interconnected 3D supermicroporous channels, achieving high efficiency in ethanol-water separation.
Background:
1. To address the problem of ethanol purification from ethanol/water mixtures, previous researchers explored various adsorbent materials, achieving some success, yet there are challenges in developing materials with both high water affinity and molecular sieve effects. 2. The authors in this paper proposed a method to identify an ideal MOF adsorbent for ethanol/water separation through a step-by-step screening process from a MOF database and obtained promising results.
Research Content:
1. Synthesis:
The authors synthesized the Cu-Tria MOF using a solvothermal method.
2. Characterizations:
1) BET results show a specific surface area of 188.63 m²g⁻¹; pore size distribution is around 3.3 Å. 2) SEM/TEM tests show the particle size and morphology of the material. 3) Other adsorption tests indicate that Cu-Tria exhibits high water uptake capacity and negligible ethanol adsorption.
3. Application:
The material was tested in ethanol-water separation, and the results show that complete separation can be achieved with ethanol purity up to 99.99%.
4. Mechanism:
The analysis of the experiment results reveals that the outstanding water affinity is due to the combination of chemical adsorption from open Cu²⁺ sites and physical adsorption based on hydrogen bonds. The precise pore aperture size leads to the size exclusion effect for ethanol.
Outlook:
This research achieved significant progress in developing efficient MOF adsorbents for ethanol-water separation, providing a new direction for the design and application of advanced separation materials.
Integrated High Water Affinity and Size Exclusion Effect on Robust Cu-based Metal−Organic Framework for Efficient Ethanol−Water Separation
Authors: Lu Wang, Hongliang Huang, Yanjiao Chang, Chongli Zhong
DOI：10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c08256
Link：https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c08256
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