Beyond the Selectivity-Capacity Trade-Off: Ultrathin Carbon Nanoplates with Easily Accessible Ultramicropores for High-Efficiency Propylene/Propane Separation

Rapid and highly efficient C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 separation over porous carbons is seriously hindered by the trade-off effect between adsorption capacity and selectivity. Here, we report a new type of porous carbon nanoplate (CNP) featuring an ultrathin thickness of around 8 nm and easily accessible ultramicropores (approximately 5.0 Å). The ultrathin nature of the material allows a high accessibility of gas molecules into the interior transport channels, and ultramicropores magnify the difference in diffusion behavior between C 3 H 6 and C 3 H 8 molecules, together ensuring a remarkable C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 separation performance. The CNPs show a high and steady C 3 H 6 capacity of up to 3.03 mmol g –1 at 298 K during consecutive dynamic cycles, which is superior to that of the state-of-the-art porous carbons and even porous crystalline materials. In particular, the CNPs show a rapid gas diffusivity, which is 1000 times higher than that of conventional activated carbons. This research provides a promising design principle for addressing the selectivity-capacity trade-off for other types of adsorbent materials.