Methyl functionalized Zr-Fum MOF with enhanced Xenon adsorption and separation

Separation of Xe and Kr is of great industrial importance and environmental concern. Adsorptive separation of Xe and Kr based on solid porous materials is a much more economical and energy-efficient alternative compared with the widely used cryogenic distillation process. For practical application, a good absorbent should have both high physicochemical stabilities and excellent performances for noble gases separation at diluted conditions. Herein, we reported a microporous methyl-functionalized Zr-MOF denoted as Zr-Fum-Me isoreticular to UiO-66(Zr) with a high physicochemical stability (thermal stability, water, acid-base and radiation resistant ability) and a good performance for Xe capture and separation. The utramicropores with a narrow size distribution (range from 5.2 to 5.5 Å) and Methyl functional groups on the pore surface remarkably enhanced the framework-Xe interactions. Zr-Fum-Me exhibits significantly higher Xe Henry coefficient and high thermodynamic Xe/Kr selectivity at very low partial pressures in comparison with what was previously observed for UiO-66 type MOF analogous. Single-column breakthrough experiments indicate that the Zr-Fum-Me can effectively capture and separate Xe under dynamic dilute conditions, implying its promising potential to capture and separate Xe in used nuclear-fuel reprocessing facilities.