Ethane/Ethene Separation Turned on Its Head: Selective Ethane Adsorption on the Metal−Organic Framework ZIF-7 through a Gate-Opening Mechanism

Ethane is selectively adsorbed over ethylene in their mixtures on the zeolite imidazolate framework ZIF-7. In packed columns, this results in the direct production of pure ethylene. This gas-phase separation is attributed to a gate-opening effect in which specific threshold pressures control the uptake and release of individual molecules. These threshold pressures differ for the different molecules, leaving a window of selective uptake...