A Layered Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework with C3H6-Preferred Pores for Efficient One-Step Purification of Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) Products

Separation of methanol-to-olefins (MTO) products to obtain high-purity C2H4 and C3H6 is of great importance, since it provides an alternative process for such important industrial raw materials. However, developing adsorbents with high C2H4/C3H6 selectivity and productivity remains challenging. Herein, we report an ultrastable layered hydrogen-bonded framework (HOF-NBDA), which features C3H6 preferred pore with multiple interlaminar interactions with C3H6. It delivers an ultrahigh C3H6 uptake (3.6 mmol g–1) at 10 kPa, while absorbs only 0.3 mmol g–1 C2H4 and shows a high C2H4/C3H6 selectivity (11.1). Experimental breakthroughs show that HOF-NBDA can efficiently separate C3H6/C2H4 (50/50, v/v) at different flow rates, temperatures, as well as relative humidities and provides a high C2H4 productivity (5.7 mol kg–1, purity ≥99.95%). Meanwhile, 4.5 mol kg–1 C3H6 (purity ≥99.5%) can also be collected during the desorption process. Additionally, thanks to ultrahigh stability, good scalability, and easy regeneration, HOF-NBDA is considered as a promising material for one-step energy-efficient separation of MTO products.