Low-Cost Stable Cu-BTC@PA for Efficient C ₃ H ₆ /C ₂ H ₄ Separation with Record C ₃ H ₆ Uptake and C ₂ H ₄ Production

Efficient separation of C 3 H 6 /C 2 H 4 from the MTO products to refine C 2 H 4 is vital, yet developing physisorbents for this industrial process is hindered by the challenge of integrating economy, high stability, shaping granulation, and separation efficiency. Herein, a low-cost, robust, shaping granular Cu-BTC@PA was fabricated, which has abundant open metal sites (OMSs) and hydrogen bond acceptor oxygen, attaining a record C 3 H 6 uptake (80.0 mL/g, 0.01 bar) and C 3 H 6 Henry constant (26569 mL/(g bar)) and excellent C 3 H 6 adsorption kinetics (0.31 min –1 ) and C 3 H 6 /C 2 H 4 selectivity (19.7) to overcome the trade-off effect. In situ FT-IR and DFT calculations revealed that the separation mechanism is the synergy of electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonds. Breakthrough experiments confirmed its complete C 3 H 6 /C 2 H 4 separation with a record C 2 H 4 productivity (813 L/kg) and C 3 H 6 /C 2 H 4 breakthrough selectivity (16.9), with outstanding regenerability and structural stability. Additionally, the synthesis of Cu-BTC@PA costs $360 USD/kg, far lower than other high-performance materials.