Structure–property Relationship for Separation of α-olefin/paraffin on
Microporous Adsorbents: A Case for CuBTC Material
Abstract
Fishcher–Tropsch synthesis products contain ultrahigh-content
α-olefins, which are of great value if the challenging separation of
α-olefin/paraffin is achieved through energy-saving ways. Adsorption
separation provides a promising alternative to distillation. One of the
most significant differences between the adsorption separation of
long-chain and light hydrocarbons is the steric hindrance of the
molecular chain. Herein, a combination of window size, metal node
spacing, and bending degree is proposed to quantitatively describe the
structure–property relationship for the separation of long-chain
α-olefin/paraffin on microporous materials. The adsorption capacity,
selectivity, adsorption sites, and host–guest interactions of
α-olefin/paraffin on CuBTC are investigated in detail to illustrate the
structure–property relationship. The contributions of different
interactions to the overall adsorption energy are innovatively
quantified. This work guides the design of adsorbent structures and
provides a generic approach to investigate the host–guest interactions
during the adsorption or catalytic process of nanoporous materials.