Hydrocarbon Separations in a Metal-Organic Framework with Open Iron(II) Coordination Sites

An Iron Separator Petroleum processing initially yields a mixture of saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons—the feedstocks for fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and a wide range of other commercial products. At present, distillation is the primary means of separating the components of this mixture. A sorbent or membrane-based approach to separation could reap substantial energy savings. Bloch et al. (p. 1606 ) found that an iron-based metal...