Three-Dimensional Pillar-Layered Copper(II) Metal−Organic Framework with Immobilized Functional OH Groups on Pore Surfaces for Highly Selective CO₂/CH₄ and C₂H₂/CH₄ Gas Sorption at Room Temperature

A new three-dimensional microporous metal-organic framework Cu(BDC-OH)(4,4'-bipy)·G(x) (UTSA-15; H(2)BDC-OH = 2-hydroxy-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 4,4'-bipy =4,4'-bipyridine, G = guest molecules) with functional -OH groups on the pore surfaces was solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. UTSA-15 features a three-dimensional structure having 2D intercrossed channels of about 4.1 × 7.8 and 3.7 × 5.1 Å(2), respectively. The small pores and the functional -OH groups on the pore surfaces within the activated UTSA-15a have enabled their strong interactions with CO(2) and C(2)H(2) which have been revealed in their large adsorption enthalpies of 39.5 and 40.6 kJ/mol, respectively, highlighting UTSA-15a as the highly selective microporous metal-organic framework for the CO(2)/CH(4) and C(2)H(2)/CH(4) gas separation with separation selectivity of 24.2 and 55.6, respectively, at 296 K.