Rational Design of Noncovalent Diamondoid Microporous Materials for Low-Energy Separation of C-Hydrocarbons.

Selective separation of gases/vapors with similar physicochemical properties involves energetically costly distillation processes. Alternative separation processes based on shape-selective molecular sieving, taking place on porous frameworks (or membranes), are less energy demanding but require an optimal balance between selectivity and diffusion kinetics (permeability). Herein, we report a rational strategy to select an optimal soft noncovalent microporous material (NPM) suitable for the low-energy separation of C-hydrocarbons with kinetic diameters in the range of 4.