Mesoporous Hydrophobic Polymeric Organic Frameworks with Bound Surfactants. Selective Adsorption of C₂H₆ versus CH₄

Abstract

Mesoporous polymeric organic frameworks (mesoPOF)­s have been synthesized through surfactant mediated polymerization of phlorglucinol (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene) and terephthalaldehyde under solvothermal conditions. The materials contain bound surfactant and exhibit hydrophobic properties. The mesoPOFs present high surface areas up to 1000 m² g^–1 and have pores of several size ranges from micropores to large mesopores depending on the amount of surfactant used. The adsorption uptakes of CO₂, C₂H₆, and CH₄ measured at 273 K at 1 bar are linearly correlated to the micropore volume. The mesoPOFs display high adsorption selectivity of C₂H₆ over CH₄ by a factor of 40, and this property is dictated by their pore diameter