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Separation of rare gases and chiral molecules by selective binding in porous organic cages
Authors:
Linjiang
Chen
(University of Liverpool)
,
Paul S.
Reiss
(University of Liverpool)
,
Sam
Chong
(University of Liverpool)
,
Daniel
Holden
(University of Liverpool)
,
Kim E.
Jelfs
(University of Liverpool)
,
Tom
Hasell
(University of Liverpool)
,
Marc A.
Little
(University of Liverpool)
,
Adam
Kewley
(University of Liverpool)
,
Michael E.
Briggs
(University of Liverpool)
,
Andrew
Stephenson
(University of Liverpool)
,
K. Mark
Thomas
(Newcastle University)
,
Jayne A.
Armstrong
(Newcastle University)
,
Jon
Bell
(Newcastle University)
,
Jose
Busto
(Aix-Marseille Université)
,
Raymond
Noel
(Aix-Marseille Université)
,
Jian
Liu
(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
,
Denis M.
Strachan
(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
,
Praveen K.
Thallapally
(Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
,
Andrew I.
Cooper
(University of Liverpool)
Co-authored by industrial partner:
No
Type:
Journal Paper
Journal:
Nature Materials
State:
Published (Approved)
Published:
July 2014
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
7040
,
8728
Abstract: The separation of molecules with similar size and shape is an important technological challenge. For example, rare gases can pose either an economic opportunity or an environmental hazard and there is a need to separate these spherical molecules selectively at low concentrations in air. Likewise, chiral molecules are important building blocks for pharmaceuticals, but chiral enantiomers, by definition, have identical size and shape, and their separation can be challenging. Here we show that a porous organic cage molecule has unprecedented performance in the solid state for the separation of rare gases, such as krypton and xenon. The selectivity arises from a precise size match between the rare gas and the organic cage cavity, as predicted by molecular simulations. Breakthrough experiments demonstrate real practical potential for the separation of krypton, xenon and radon from air at concentrations of only a few parts per million. We also demonstrate selective binding of chiral organic molecules such as 1-phenylethanol, suggesting applications in enantioselective separation.
Subject Areas:
Chemistry,
Materials,
Environment
Instruments:
I11-High Resolution Powder Diffraction
,
I19-Small Molecule Single Crystal Diffraction