LAUSR

Ionic liquid (IL) supported metal-organic framework (MOF) was utilized to efficiently separate acetylene from ethylene. A common ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim][OAc]), was encapsulated into a hydrothermally stable MOF, namely MIL-101(Cr). Characterization techniques including FTIR, PXRD, BET, and TGA were used to confirm successful encapsulation of the IL within MIL-101(Cr). Adsorption isotherms of acetylene and ethylene in the IL-encapsulated MOF were tested. From the results, the MOF composite retained a relatively high adsorption capacity. Remarkably, the adsorption selectivity of acetylene/ethylene has dramatically increased from 3.0 to 30 in comparison with the parent MIL-101(Cr). Furthermore, the potential of industrial practice was examined by breakthrough and regeneration experiments. It not only satisfies the industrial production of removal of low level of acetylene from ethylene, but also is notably stable during the adsorption-desorption process. The high designability of ILs combined with richness of MOFs' structures exploits a novel blueprint for gas separation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.