Adsorptive separation of xenon/krypton mixtures using a zirconium-based metal-organic framework with high hydrothermal and radioactive stabilities

The separation of xenon/krypton mixtures is important for both environmental and industrial purposes. The potential of three hydrothermally stable MOFs (MIL-100(Fe), MIL-101(Cr), and UiO-66(Zr)) for use in Xe/Kr separation has been experimentally investigated. From the observed single-component Xe and Kr isotherms, isosteric heat of adsorption (Qsto), and IAST-predicted Xe/Kr selectivities, we observed that UiO-66(Zr) has the most potential as an adsorbent among the three candidate MOFs. We performed dynamic breakthrough experiments with an adsorption bed filled with UiO-66(Zr) to evaluate further the potential of UiO-66(Zr) for Xe/Kr separation under mixture flow conditions. Remarkably, the experimental breakthrough curves show that UiO-66(Zr) can efficiently separate the Xe/Kr mixture. Furthermore, UiO-66(Zr) maintains most of its Xe and Kr uptake capacity, as well as its crystallinity and internal surface area, even after exposure to gamma radiation (2kGy) for 7h and aging for 16 months under ambient conditions. This result indicates that UiO-66(Zr) can be considered to be a potential adsorbent for Xe/Kr mixtures under both ambient and radioactive conditions.