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, [Co₂(μ₂-OH)­(bpdc)­(Htpim)₂]­[SiF₆]·3.5DMA·2.5CH₃OH (JLU-Liu37, H₂bpdc = biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate, Htpim = 2,4,5-tri­(4-pyridyl)­imidazole) and [Ni₂(μ₂-OH)­(bpdc)­(Htpim)₂]­[SiF₆]·7.5DMA·6CH₃OH (JLU-Liu38), have been solvothermally synthesized by using the mixed ligand strategy. Both of the compounds possess finite binuclear [M₂(μ₂-OH)­(COO)₂] (M = Co, Ni) secondary building units (SBUs) which formed with a polar functional group, μ₂-OH. JLU-Liu37 and JLU-Liu38 exhibit notable adsorption capacities for CO₂ and light hydrocarbons (CH₄, C₂H₆, and C₃H₈). Moreover, both of the materials exhibit arrestive natural gas selective separation ability, especially for C₃H₈/CH₄ (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.