Self-Interpenetrated Water-Stable Microporous Metal–Organic Framework toward Storage and Purification of Light Hydrocarbons

Storage and purification of light hydrocarbons are very meaningful for their high-purity requirements and safety utilization in the fields of industry and clean energy. It is a simple and effective way to achieve this goal utilizing the physical adsorption properties of stable porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). In this work, a stable self-interpenetrated three-dimensional MOF with a new 3,4-connected topology, {[Zn2(tpda)2(4,4′-bpy)]·4DMF}n (NKM-101; H2tpda = 4,4′-[4-(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)phenyl]dibenzoic acid, 4,4′-bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine, and DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide), has been successfully constructed based on a triazole–carboxyl ligand. The dense functional active sites existing on the inner walls of one-dimensional channels of NKM-101 are beneficial to enhancement of the binding affinities between the framework and specific molecules (CO2, C2–C4). Therefore, the selective adsorption and separation performance of the material on CO2/CH4 and C2–C4/CH4 are effectively improved. In addition, NKM-101 also exhibits excellent water stability, making it possible to be a practical material for the storage and purification of light hydrocarbons.