Amino‐Functionalized Metal–Organic Frameworks Featuring Ultra‐Strong Ethane Nano‐Traps for Efficient C2H6/C2H4 Separation

Abstract Developing high‐performance porous materials to separate ethane from ethylene is an important but challenging task in the chemical industry, given their similar sizes and physicochemical properties. Herein, a new type of ultra‐strong C 2 H 6 nano‐trap, CuIn(3‐ain) 4 is presented, which utilizes multiple guest‐host interactions to efficiently capture C 2 H 6 molecules and separate mixtures of C 2 H 6 and C 2 H 4 . The ultra‐strong C 2 H 6 nano‐trap exhibits the high C 2 H 6 (2.38 mmol g −1 ) uptake at 6.25 kPa and 298 K and demonstrates a remarkable selectivity of 3.42 for C 2 H 6 /C 2 H 4 (10:90). Additionally, equimolar C 2 H 6 /C 2 H 4 exhibited a superior high separation potential ∆Q (2286 mmol L −1 ) at 298 K. Kinetic adsorption tests demonstrated that CuIn(3‐ain) 4 has a high adsorption rate for C 2 H 6 , establishing it as a new benchmark material for the capture of C 2 H 6 and the separation of C 2 H 6 /C 2 H 4 . Notably, this exceptional performance is maintained even at a higher temperature of 333 K, a phenomenon not observed before. Theoretical simulations and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction provide critical insights into how selective adsorption properties can be tuned by manipulating pore dimensions and geometry. The excellent separation performance of CuIn(3‐ain) 4 has been confirmed through breakthrough experiments for C 2 H 6 /C 2 H 4 gas mixtures.