Capture of heavy hydrogen isotopes in a metal-organic framework with active Cu(I) sites.

The production of pure deuterium and the removal of tritium from nuclear waste are the key challenges in separation of light isotopes. Presently, the technological methods are extremely energy- and cost-intensive. Here we report the capture of heavy hydrogen isotopes from hydrogen gas by selective adsorption at Cu(I) sites in a metal-organic framework.

Formation of a quasi-solid structure by intercalated noble gas atoms in pores of Cu(I)-MFU-4l metal-organic framework.

The primary adsorption sites for Kr and Xe within the large-pore metal-organic framework Cu(I)-MFU-4l have been investigated by high-resolution synchrotron powder diffraction, revealing an enormous number of adsorption sites: in total, 10 crystallographically different positions for Xe and 8 positions for Kr were localized, the first five of which are located near metal atoms and the organic linker, and the remaining sites form a second adsorption layer in the pores.