Reversed C2H6/C2H4 separation in interpenetrated diamondoid coordination networks with enhanced host–guest interaction

The separation of ethane (C2H6) from ethylene (C2H4) is one of the most challenging and important tasks in chemical industry. Herein we report two interpenetrated diamondoid (dia) coordination networks, Dia-4-M [M(pba)2] (pba = 4-(4-pyridyl)benzoate); M = Ni or Co), that can directly capture ethane from ethane-ethylene mixtures with reverse C2H6/C2H4 separation. Both materials not only exhibit ultra-high C2H6 uptake (100 cm3 g−1 for Dia-4-Ni;...