Micro- and mesoporous metal-organic frameworks for hydrocarbon separation

The review presents data on the use of porous metal-organic frameworks for the separation of some industrially important hydrocarbon mixtures, such as ethane and ethylene, propane and propylene, benzene and cyclohexane, and xylene isomers. It is shown that enhancing the efficiency of materials based on porous metal-organic frameworks relies on understanding the nature of adsorption sites in their structures, the specifics of interactions between the framework and a particular substrate, and the structural response of the framework (host) as it is filled with guest molecules. The achievements of fundamental studies and unresolved problems related to the use of porous metal-organic frameworks in industrial hydrocarbon separation processes are critically analyzed.