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Industrial purification of propylene and ethylene requires cryogenic distillation and selective hydrogenation over palladium catalysts to remove propane, ethane and/or trace amounts of acetylene. Here, we report the excellent separation of equimolar mixtures of propylene/propane and ethylene/ethane, and of a 1/100 mixture of acetylene/ethylene by a highly robust microporous material, MFM-520, under dynamic conditions. In situ synchrotron single crystal X-ray diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering and analysis of adsorption thermodynamic parameters reveal that a series of synergistic host-guest interactions involving hydrogen bonding and π⋅⋅⋅π stacking interactions underpin the cooperative binding of alkenes within the pore. Notably, the optimal pore geometry of the material enables selective accommodation of acetylene. The practical potential of this porous material has been demonstrated by fabricating mixed-matrix membranes comprising MFM-520, Matrimid and PIM-1, and these exhibit not only a high permeability for propylene (≈1984 Barrer), but also a separation factor of 7.8 for an equimolar mixture of propylene/propane at 298 K.

This work reports the thermal and electron beam stabilities of a series of isostructural metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) of type MFM-300(M) (M = Al, Ga, In, Cr). MFM-300(Cr) was most stable under the electron beam, having an unusually high critical electron fluence of 1111 e− Å−2 while the Group 13 element MOFs were found to be less stable. Within Group 13, MFM-300(Al) had the highest critical electron fluence of 330 e− Å−2, compared to 189 e− Å−2 and 147 e− Å−2 for the Ga and In MOFs, respectively. For all four MOFs, electron beam-induced structural degradation was independent of crystal size and was highly anisotropic, although both the length and width of the channels decreased during electron beam irradiation. Notably, MFM-300(Cr) was found to retain crystallinity while shrinking up to 10%. Thermal stability was studied using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction at elevated temperature, which revealed critical temperatures for crystal degradation to be 605, 570, 490 and 480 °C for Al, Cr, Ga, and In, respectively. The pore channel diameters contracted by ≈0.5% on desorption of solvent species, but thermal degradation at higher temperatures was isotropic. The observed electron stabilities were found to scale with the relative inertness of the cations and correlate well to the measured lifetime of the materials when used as photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano‐ and angstrom‐scale channels fabricated from 2D‐layered materials provide a unique platform for studying fluidic behavior at atomic‐scale confinement, with applications in desalination, osmotic power generation, and fuel cells. While various fabrication methods exist, achieving precision, scalability, and minimal fabrication time is challenging. Ultramicrotomy‐based nanofabrication is shown here as an efficient approach to create nanofluidic membranes containing nanochannels with atomically flat walls. This approach is compatible with both bottom–up nanolaminates and top–down nanochannels, produces multiple devices from the same 2D assembly and allows swift variation of channel length. Integration of these membranes into macroscopic silicon fluidic‐chips is achieved maintaining the structural and functional properties. The robustness of the sliced membranes is demonstrated through restacked vermiculate laminates that sustain applied pressures and generate ionic streaming currents. Sliced pristine vermiculite channels exhibit charge‐selective ion transport, leading to osmotic power density (Posm/A) ranging from 9.2 to 300.4 Wm−2 under various KCl concentration gradients. Maximum conversion efficiency of 23.3% is obtained at a 100‐fold gradient, yielding Posm/A of 234.6 Wm−2. Short channel lengths sliced by ultramicrotomy contribute to high Posm/A, promising applications of miniature energy devices for pressure‐driven electricity generation and osmotic power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formamides are important feedstocks for the manufacture of many fine chemicals. State‐of‐the‐art synthesis of formamides relies on the use of an excess amount of reagents, giving copious waste and thus poor atom‐economy. Here, we report the first example of direct synthesis of N‐formamides by coupling two challenging reactions, namely reductive amination of carbonyl compounds, particularly biomass‐derived aldehydes and ketones, and fixation of CO2 in the presence of H2 over a metal‐organic framework supported ruthenium catalyst, Ru/MFM‐300(Cr). Highly selective production of N‐formamides has been observed for a wide range of carbonyl compounds. Synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction reveals the presence of strong host‐guest binding interactions via hydrogen bonding and parallel‐displaced π⋅⋅⋅π interactions between the catalyst and adsorbed substrates facilitating the activation of substrates and promoting selectivity to formamides. The use of multifunctional porous catalysts to integrate CO2 utilisation in the synthesis of formamide products will have a significant impact in the sustainable synthesis of feedstock chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formamides are important feedstocks for the manufacture of many fine chemicals. State-of-the-art synthesis of formamides relies on the use of an excess amount of reagents, giving copious waste and thus poor atom-economy. Here, we report the first example of direct synthesis of N-formamides by coupling two challenging reactions, namely reductive amination of carbonyl compounds, particularly biomass-derived aldehydes and ketones, and fixation of CO 2 in the presence of H 2 over a metal-organic framework supported ruthenium catalyst, Ru/MFM-300(Cr). Highly selective production of N-formamides has been observed for a wide range of carbonyl compounds. Synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction reveals the presence of strong host-guest binding interactions via hydrogen bonding and parallel-displaced π⋅⋅⋅π interactions between the catalyst and adsorbed substrates facilitating the activation of substrates and promoting selectivity to formamides. The use of multifunctional porous catalysts to integrate CO 2 utilisation in the synthesis of formamide products will have a significant impact in the sustainable synthesis of feedstock chemicals., (© 2023 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Industrial purification of propylene and ethylene requires cryogenic distillation and selective hydrogenation over palladium catalysts to remove propane, ethane and/or trace amounts of acetylene. Here, we report the excellent separation of equimolar mixtures of propylene/propane and ethylene/ethane, and of a 1/100 mixture of acetylene/ethylene by a highly robust microporous material, MFM-520, under dynamic conditions. In situ synchrotron single crystal X-ray diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering and analysis of adsorption thermodynamic parameters reveal that a series of synergistic host-guest interactions involving hydrogen bonding and π⋅⋅⋅π stacking interactions underpin the cooperative binding of alkenes within the pore. Notably, the optimal pore geometry of the material enables selective accommodation of acetylene. The practical potential of this porous material has been demonstrated by fabricating mixed-matrix membranes comprising MFM-520, Matrimid and PIM-1, and these exhibit not only a high permeability for propylene (≈1984 Barrer), but also a separation factor of 7.8 for an equimolar mixture of propylene/propane at 298 K., (© 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)