A Pillared-Layer Coordination Network for One-Step Ethylene Production from Ternary CO2/C2H2/C2H4 Gas Mixture

One-step separation of ethylene (C2H4) from multicomponent mixtures poses significant challenges in the petrochemical industry due to the high similarity of involved gas molecules. Herein, we report a pillared-layer coordination network named Zn-fa-mtrz (H2fa = fumaric acid; Hmtrz = 3-methyl-1,2,4-triazole) possessing pore surfaces decorated with methyl groups and electronegative N/O atoms. Molecular modeling reveals that the pore surface of Zn-fa-mtrz provides more and stronger multiple interaction sites to simultaneously enhance the adsorption affinity for CO2 and C2H2 other than C2H4. The experimental and simulated breakthrough experiments demonstrate the ability to produce high-purity C2H4 (>99.97%) in one-step from ternary CO2/C2H2/C2H4 gas mixtures.