Separation of CO 2 from CH 4 Using Mixed-Ligand Metal-Organic Frameworks

The adsorption of CO2 and CH4 in a mixed-ligand metal-organic framework (MOF) Zn2(NDC)2(DPNI) [NDC ) 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate, DPNI)N,N′-di-(4-pyridyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalene tetracarboxydiimide] was investigated using volumetric adsorption measurements and grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. The MOF was synthesized by two routes: first at 80 °C for two days with conventional heating, and second at 120 °C for 1 h using microwave heating. The two as-synthesized samples exhibit very similar powder X-ray diffraction patterns, but the evacuated samples show differences in nitrogen uptake. From the single-component CO2 and CH4 isotherms, mixture adsorption was predicted using the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST). The microwave sample shows a selectivity of ∼30 for CO2 over CH4, which is among the highest selectivities reported for this separation. The applicability of IAST to this system was demonstrated by performing GCMC simulations for both single-component and mixture adsorption.