Two Finite Binuclear [M2(μ2-OH)(COO)2] (M = Co, Ni) Based Highly Porous Metal–Organic Frameworks with High Performance for Gas Sorption and Separation

Two highly porous MOFs, [Co 2 (μ 2 -OH)(bpdc)(Htpim) 2 ][SiF 6 ]·3.5DMA·2.5CH 3 OH ( JLU-Liu37, H 2 bpdc = biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate, Htpim = 2,4,5-tri(4-pyridyl)imidazole) and [Ni 2 (μ 2 -OH)(bpdc)(Htpim) 2 ][SiF 6 ]·7.5DMA·6CH 3 OH ( JLU-Liu38 ), have been solvothermally synthesized by using the mixed ligand strategy. Both of the compounds possess finite binuclear [M 2 (μ 2 -OH)(COO) 2 ] (M = Co, Ni) secondary building units (SBUs) which formed with a polar functional group, μ 2 -OH. JLU-Liu37 and JLU-Liu38 exhibit notable adsorption capacities for CO 2 and light hydrocarbons (CH 4, C 2 H 6, and C 3 H 8 ). Moreover, both of the materials exhibit arrestive natural gas selective separation ability, especially for C 3 H 8 /CH 4 (206 for an equimolar mixture under 1 bar and 298 K, for JLU-Liu37 ). Both of the MOFs may be effectively applied in the separation of industrial light hydrocarbons.