Enhanced noble gas adsorption in Ag@MOF-74Ni

Various amounts of Ag nanoparticles were successfully deposited in porous MOF-74Ni (or Ni/DOBDC) by an auto-reduction method. An optimized silver-loaded MOF-74Ni was shown to have an improved Xe adsorption capacity (15% more) at STP compared to the MOF without silver nanoparticles. The silver-loaded sample also has a higher Xe/Kr selectivity. These results are explained by the stronger interactions between polarizable Xe molecules and the well-dispersed Ag nanoparticles.