Complementary Adsorption within Metal–Organic Frameworks for Ethylene Upgrading from Refinery Dry Gas

Molecule-specific adsorption offers an efficient approach for target molecule purification from complex mixtures that demand a series of energy-intensive separation units. However, existing separation mechanisms that discriminate molecular sizes or functional groups are generally unable to achieve molecule-specific adsorption due to insufficiently identified molecular information. We reveal the complementary adsorption mechanism that discriminates molecules through surface electrostatic potential and molecular shape, covering more comprehensive physical and chemical molecular properties, and realizing precise molecular recognition. The constructed novel porous material ZU-501, which exhibits electrostatic potential and shape complementarity toward ethylene, first realizes ethylene-specific adsorption from typical ethylene mixtures, including C1-C4 paraffins and olefins, and carbon dioxide. The practical use potential of ZU-501 for one-step ethylene recovery from a refinery dry gas is validated by scale-up breakthrough experiments and pressure swing adsorption modeling. This work paves an important avenue for the efficient utilization of low-concentration ethylene resources from diverse scenarios.