Abstract
One-step separation of ethylene (C(2)H(4)) 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 (H(2)fa = 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 CO(2) and C(2)H(2) other than C(2)H(4). The experimental and simulated breakthrough experiments demonstrate the ability to produce high-purity C(2)H(4) (>99.97%) in one-step from ternary CO(2)/C(2)H(2)/C(2)H(4) gas mixtures.