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Probing sub-5 Ångstrom micropores in carbon for precise light olefin/paraffin separation

Author

Listed:
  • Shengjun Du

    (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology)

  • Jiawu Huang

    (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology)

  • Matthew R. Ryder

    (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • Luke L. Daemen

    (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • Cuiting Yang

    (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology)

  • Hongjun Zhang

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Panchao Yin

    (South China University of Technology)

  • Yuyan Lai

    (South China University of Technology)

  • Jing Xiao

    (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology)

  • Sheng Dai

    (Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, University of Tennessee
    Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • Banglin Chen

    (College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Fujian Normal University)

Abstract

Olefin/paraffin separation is an important but challenging and energy-intensive process in petrochemical industry. The realization of carbons with size-exclusion capability is highly desirable but rarely reported. Herein, we report polydopamine-derived carbons (PDA-Cx, where x refers to the pyrolysis temperature) with tailorable sub-5 Å micropore orifices together with larger microvoids by one-step pyrolysis. The sub-5 Å micropore orifices centered at 4.1–4.3 Å in PDA-C800 and 3.7–4.0 Å in PDA-C900 allow the entry of olefins while entirely excluding their paraffin counterparts, performing a precise cut-off to discriminate olefin/paraffin with sub-angstrom discrepancy. The larger voids enable high C2H4 and C3H6 capacities of 2.25 and 1.98 mmol g−1 under ambient conditions, respectively. Breakthrough experiments confirm that a one-step adsorption-desorption process can obtain high-purity olefins. Inelastic neutron scattering further reveals the host–guest interaction of adsorbed C2H4 and C3H6 molecules in PDA-Cx. This study opens an avenue to exploit the sub-5 Å micropores in carbon and their desirable size-exclusion effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Shengjun Du & Jiawu Huang & Matthew R. Ryder & Luke L. Daemen & Cuiting Yang & Hongjun Zhang & Panchao Yin & Yuyan Lai & Jing Xiao & Sheng Dai & Banglin Chen, 2023. "Probing sub-5 Ångstrom micropores in carbon for precise light olefin/paraffin separation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-36890-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36890-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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