Enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography using mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/strong cation‐exchange retention mechanisms

The potential of enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography, a subcritical chromatography technique, in mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange separations is explored, using amino acids as analytes. The enhanced‐fluidity liquid mobile phases were prepared by adding liquefied CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures, which increases the diffusivity and decreases the viscosity of the mixture. The addition of CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures resulted in increased retention of the more polar amino acids. The “optimized” chromatographic performance (achieving baseline resolution of all amino acids in the shortest amount of time) of these methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures was compared to traditional acetonitrile/water and methanol/water liquid chromatography mobile phases. Methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures offered higher efficiencies and resolution of the ten amino acids relative to the methanol/water mobile phase, and decreased the required isocratic separation time by a factor of two relative to the acetonitrile/water mobile phase. Large differences in selectivity were also observed between the enhanced‐fluidity and traditional liquid mobile phases. A retention mechanism study was completed, that revealed the enhanced‐fluidity mobile phase separation was governed by a mixed‐mode retention mechanism of hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange. On the other hand, separations with acetonitrile/water and methanol/water mobile phases were strongly governed by only one retention mechanism, either hydrophilic interaction or strong cation exchange, respectively.     

Evaporation of alcohol/water mixtures through hydrophobic porous membranes

The evaporation of methanol/water, ethanol/water and propanol/water mixtures across hydrophobic porous membranes (Gore-Tex polytetrafluoroethylene membranes) with different nominal pore radii was studied at ambient temperatures. The evaporation process leads to a higher concentration of the alcohols in the vapor phase. There exists only a limited composition range (dilute solutions of alcohols in water) in which evaporation experiments are possible. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of the average pore diameter of the membranes, the vaporliquid equilibrium data of the systems and the measured contact angles between methanol/water, ethanol/water and n-propanol/water mixtures and polytetrafluoroethylene, respectively.     

Adsorption of Water and Methanol on a NaZSM-5 Zeolite. A temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) study

Using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), we have investigated the desorption behavior after subsequent co-adsorption of methanol and water and after adsorption of their mixtures on a NaZSM-5 zeolite. The course of desorption indicates that a strong mutual displacement of both components occurs. However, on the strongest adsorption sites methanol is preferentially adsorbed, and already the addition of small amounts of methanol leads to a displacement of water. Our results support the idea of a subdivision of the pore space for adsorption of water/methanol mixtures. Above all, the experiments show that in the part of the pore space where both components are adsorbed, different sites are of importance which vary significantly in their interaction strength. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Molecular simulation study on adsorption of methanol/water mixtures in mesoporous silicas modified pore surface silylation

Two types of molecular simulation techniques have been utilized to investigate adsorption of methanol/water mixtures in a mesoporous silica with a hydrophobic pore surface: the NVT-ensemble Molecular Dynamics method with the melt-quench algorithm for modeling a fully-silylated mesoporous silica and the μVT-ensemble Orientaional-Biased Monte Carlo method for calculating adsorption isotherms. Adsorption isotherms of methanol and water at 333 K are calculated for an equi-relative-pressure mixture (each component has the same relative pressure which is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure to the saturation pressure of the pure gas) together with pure gases. In the case of the pure gas, water hardly adsorb even at elevated pressures, while the adsorption isotherm for methanol shows the condensable adsorption. On the other hand, in the case of the mixture, water molecules are substantially adsorbed along with methanol molecules, showing an isotherm representing the condensation mechanism. In addition, it is found that the separation factor of methanol to water is the highest in the case of monolayer adsorption from a liquid mixture.     

Water-Stable Metal Azolate Frameworks Showing Interesting Flexibilities for Highly Effective Bioethanol Dehydration

The ethanol/water separation challenge highlights the adsorption capacity/selectivity trade-off problem. We show that the target guest can serve as a gating component of the host to block the undesired guest, giving molecular sieving effect for the adsorbent possessing large pores. Two hydrophilic/water-stable metal azolate frameworks were designed to compare the effects of gating and pore-opening flexibility. Large amounts (up to 28.7 mmol g⁻¹) of ethanol with fuel-grade (99.5 %+) and even higher purities (99.9999 %+) can be produced in a single adsorption process from not only 95 : 5 but also 10 : 90 ethanol/water mixtures. More interestingly, the pore-opening adsorbent possessing large pore apertures showed not only high water adsorption capacity but also exceptionally high water/ethanol selectivity characteristic of molecular sieving. Computational simulations demonstrated the critical role of guest-anchoring aperture for the guest-dominated gating process.     

Alcohol‐Vapor Inclusion in Single‐Crystal Adsorbents [MII2(bza)4(pyz)]n (M=Rh,Cu): Structural Study and Application to Separation Membranes

The vapor absorbency of the series of alcohols methanol, ethanol, 1‐propanol, 1‐butanol, and 1‐pentanol was characterized on the single‐crystal adsorbents [M^II₂(bza)₄(pyz)]_n (bza=benzoate, pyz=pyrazine, M=Rh ( 1 ), Cu ( 2 )). The crystal structures of all the alcohol inclusions were determined by single‐crystal X‐ray crystallography at 90 K. The crystal‐phase transition induced by guest adsorption occurred in the inclusion crystals except for 1‐propanol. A hydrogen‐bonded dimer of adsorbed alcohol was found in the methanol‐ and ethanol‐inclusion crystals, which is similar to a previous observation in 2 ?2EtOH (S. Takamizawa, T. Saito, T. Akatsuka, E. Nakata, Inorg. Chem. 2005 , 44, 1421–1424). In contrast, an isolated monomer was present in the channel for 1‐propanol, 1‐butanol, and 1‐pentanol inclusions. All adsorbed alcohols were stabilized by hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic interactions between host and guest. From the combined results of microscopic determination (crystal structure) and macroscopic observation (gas‐adsorption property), the observed transition induced by gas adsorption is explained by stepwise inclusion into the individual cavities, which is called the “step‐loading effect.” Alcohol/water separation was attempted by a pervaporation technique with microcrystals of 2 dispersed in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) membrane. In the alcohol/water separation, the membrane showed effective separation ability and gave separation factors (alcohol/water) of 5.6 and 4.7 for methanol and ethanol at room temperature, respectively.     

Copper-exchanged LTA zeolite membranes with enhanced water flux for ethanol dehydration

Phase-pure and well-intergrown Cu-LTA membranes are developed through copper ions exchange of sodium ions in Na-LTA framework. For pervaporation of 90.0 wt% ethanol/10.0 wt% water mixtures, the Cu-LTA membrane shows much higher water flux than Na-LTA membranes due to the enhancement of the pore size after ions exchange.     

Highly Selective Water Adsorption in a Lanthanum Metal–Organic Framework

We present a new metal–organic framework (MOF) built from lanthanum and pyrazine‐2,5‐dicarboxylate (pyzdc) ions. This MOF, [La(pyzdc)_1.5(H₂O)₂] ? 2 H₂O, is microporous, with 1D channels that easily accommodate water molecules. Its framework is highly robust to dehydration/hydration cycles. Unusually for a MOF, it also features a high hydrothermal stability. This makes it an ideal candidate for air drying as well as for separating water/alcohol mixtures. The ability of the activated MOF to adsorb water selectively was evaluated by means of thermogravimetric analysis, powder and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and adsorption studies, indicating a maximum uptake of 1.2 mmol g^?1 MOF. These results are in agreement with the microporous structure, which permits only water molecules to enter the channels (alcohols, including methanol, are simply too large). Transient breakthrough simulations using water/methanol mixtures confirm that such mixtures can be separated cleanly using this new MOF.     

Exploiting Large‐Pore Metal–Organic Frameworks for Separations through Entropic Molecular Mechanisms

We review the molecular mechanisms behind adsorption and the separations of mixtures in metal–organic frameworks and zeolites. Separation mechanisms can be based on differences in the affinity of the adsorbate with the framework and on entropic effects. To develop next‐generation adsorbents, the separation efficiency of the materials needs to be improved. The performance under industrially relevant conditions largely depends on two factors: 1) the separation selectivity and 2) the pore volume capacity of the material. Enthalpic mechanisms can lead to increased selectivities, but these are mostly restricted to the low loading regime, and hence these mechanisms are unable to make use of all of the large‐pore volume that a metal–organic framework can provide. Industrial processes routinely operate in the pore saturation regime. In this Review, we focus on entropic molecular separation mechanisms that are effective under these conditions and, in particular, on a recent methodology to obtain high selectivities at high pore loading.     

Adsorption dynamics of gases and vapors on the nanoporous metal organic framework material Ni2(4,4'-bipyridine)3(NO3)4: guest modification of host sorption behavior

This study combines measurements of the thermodynamics and kinetics of guest sorption with powder X-ray diffraction measurements of the nanoporous metal organic framework adsorbent (host) at different adsorptive (guest) loadings. The adsorption characteristics of nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and ethanol and methanol vapors on Ni2(4,4'-bipyridine)3(NO3)4 were studied over a range of temperatures as a function of pressure. Isotherm steps were observed for both carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide adsorption at approximately 10-20% of the total pore volume and at approximately 70% of total pore volume for methanol adsorption. The adsorption kinetics obey a linear driving force (LDF) mass transfer model for adsorption at low surface coverage. At high surface coverage, both methanol and ethanol adsorption follow a combined barrier resistance/diffusion model. The rates of adsorption in the region of both the carbon dioxide and methanol isotherm steps were significantly slower than those observed either before or after the step. X-ray diffraction studies at various methanol loadings showed that the host structure disordered initially but underwent a structural change in the region of the isotherm step. These isotherm steps are ascribed to discrete structural changes in the host adsorbent that are induced by adsorption on different sites. Isotherm steps were not observed for ethanol adsorption, which followed a Langmuir isotherm. Previous X-ray crystallography studies have shown that all the sites are equivalent for ethanol adsorption on Ni2(4,4'-bipyridine)3(NO3)4, with the host structure undergoing a scissoring motion and the space group remaining unchanged during adsorption. The activation energies and preexponential factors for methanol and ethanol adsorption were calculated for each pressure increment at which the linear driving force model was obeyed. There was a good correlation between activation energy and ln(preexponential factor), indicating a compensation effect. The results are discussed in terms of reversible adsorbate/adsorbent (guest/host) structural changes and interactions and the adsorption mechanism. The paper contains the first evidence of specific interactions between guests and functional groups leading to structural change in flexible porous coordination polymer frameworks.     

Heats of immersion of titanium dioxide pigments in alcohol—water mixtures

The heats of immersion of partially dried anatase and rutile pigments in mixtures of water with methanol, ethanol, and n-propanol were measured by a differential calorimetric method. The anatase heats of immersion could best be explained by assuming preferential adsorption of the alcohols, the effect being greatest for n-propanol The rutile pigment, however, appeared to adsorb water preferentially in methanol—water and ethanol—water mixtures over the whole concentration range. In propanol—water mixtures the rutile pigment preferentially adsorbed water below an alcohol mol fraction of 0.25, and preferentially adsorbed propanol at mol fractions of alcohol greater than 0.25. The differences in behaviour between the two pigments may be explained qualitatively from the point of view of their surface morphology.     

CXN天然沸石的研究2: 吸附性质

采用N~2,NH~3,CO~2,乙烯,丙烯,水,甲醇,乙醇,丙醇等作为吸附剂,研究了由我国CXN天然沸石改性制得的H-STI和Na-STI沸石的吸附性质,H-STI和Na-STI沸石的BET表面积及微孔孔体积约为420m^2/g和0.20m^3/g。根据NH~3和CO~2在H-STI沸石上的吸附等温线计算得到它们的吸附热分别为44.8和26.5kJ/mol。乙烯,丙烯,甲醇,乙醇,丙醇等在Na-STI沸石上的吸附等温线表明该沸石对有机分子的吸附具有链长选择性。在低分压下水相对于甲醇的吸附量表明沸石具有一定的疏水性质。     

Separation of alcohols and alcohols/O2 mixtures using zeolite MFI membranes

Two different types of supported silicalite membranes were employed for the separation of alcohols and alcohols/O₂ mixtures: in one of them the zeolite material was deposited on the top of the γ-alumina supports, while in the other the zeolitic material was mainly present in the porous structure of the α-alumina supports. While both kinds of membranes were able to separate the above mixtures, the second type of membranes having the zeolite material inside the support performed more efficiently. The maximum selectivity reported in this work is 7415 for the ethanol/O₂ separation in an ethanol/methanol/O₂ mixture. For a better understanding of the separation mechanism, the performance of both zeolite membranes was compared to that of a mesoporous silica membrane. Also, the adsorption of methanol and propanol on silicalite crystals was measured using a microbalance.     

Enhanced alcohol and H2O adsorption and separation performances by introducing pyridyl ligand in a MOF

MOFs (Metal-Organic Framework), as promising crystalline materials of adsorption and separation, has been the subject of many recent investigations. However, the H₂O stability of MOFs and the variation of adsorption selectivity in humid environments largely hinder attempts as excellent adsorbents in numerous scenarios. This study employs hydro-thermal synthesis [Cd_0.5(DPETA)_0.5]_n using 2,3′,5,5′-Diphenyl tetracarboxylic acid (DPETA) and Cd(NO₃)₂·4H₂O as ligands and metal ions, respectively. And it is modified by adding auxiliary ligands 4-4′-bipyridyl (bpy) and 1,2-bis (4-pyridyl) ethylene(bpe) to obtain [Cd_1.5bpy₂(DPETA)]_n and [Cd₂bpe₂(DPETA)]_n.The phase purity of the MOFs is examined using PXRD and FT-IR spectrum. The adsorption capacities of three MOFs are tested separately for water, ethanol and methanol using vapor adsorption. Their adsorption conformations and hydrogen bond lengths are also calculated by the GCMC method. The adsorption selection ratios of methanol and ethanol are deduced in combination with the IAST method under three components of water, methanol and ethanol. The results shows a methanol/ethanol adsorption separation ratio of 45 for [Cd_1.5bpy₂(DPETA)]_n at 297 K, which is consistent with the of GCMC demonstrated. These results suggest that the methanol/ethanol adsorption selectivity ratio can be improved by increasing the adsorption force on methanol through by adding of auxiliary pyridyl ethylene. It can be used for efficient methanol/ethanol separation in humid environments.     

Characterization of a molecular sieve coating using ellipsometric porosimetry

Ellipsometric porosimetry was used to determine the adsorption isotherms of toluene, methanol, and water on b-oriented Silicalite-1 coatings with a thickness of less than ca. 250 nm and to obtain adsorption kinetics. The adsorption isotherms are of sufficient quality to reveal several aspects of the pore structure such as the adsorbate capacity and the adsorbate/framework affinity. The use of a combination of different molecular probes in ellipsometric porosimetry to elucidate the molecular accessibility of Silicalite-1 pores is demonstrated. It is shown that ellipsometric porosimetry is an appropriate technique for probing the influence of aging of the Silicalite-1 coating and of planarization polishing on the porosity, pore accessibility, and adsorbate/framework affinity.     

化学液相沉积法调变沸石孔径及异构体择形分离

本文用化学液相沉积方法精细调变NaY沸石孔径, 在适当的溶剂中硅酯与沸石吸附水或表面羟基作用而沉积于沸石外表面, 沸石孔口有效地被缩小。制备了一系列氧化硅沉积量不同的SiNaY沸石, 红外光谱、比表面和孔体积测量结果表明随着沉积量增加沸石孔径逐渐缩小, 但沸石骨架结构、孔容和内表面性质基本不变。测定了SiNaY样品对于对二甲苯/1, 3, 5-三甲苯, β-甲基萘/α-甲基萘, 1, 2, 4-三甲苯/1, 3, 5-三甲苯, 对二甲苯/间二甲苯和对甲酚/间甲酚五类分子尺寸不同的液体混合体系的择形吸附行为, 发现SiNaY沸石对分子尺寸与沸石孔径相近的混合体系具有良好的择形选择吸附分离性能。     

SAPO-34处理方法对吸附性能的影响

以二乙胺为结构导向剂, 在微波条件下合成了SAPO-34分子筛材料, 并分别在空气和氮气氛下1073 K焙烧. 考察了氮气氛下分子筛表面碳改性后对材料表面及水、甲醇和乙醇吸附性能的影响. 结果表明: 碳改性后SAPO-34比表面、孔容下降, 但孔径趋于均一. 与SAPO-34样品相比, 碳改性后SAPO-34吸水量从0.295 g/g降低到0.180 g/g, 甲醇/乙醇的吸附比从1.42提高到2.81.     

ZSM-5沸石膜的吸附表征

The framework and thickness of synthesized ZSM-5 membranes were characterized using static and dynamic adsorption methods. It is shown that the adsorptive properties of the membranes are the same as ZSM-5 zeolite, the average thickness of the membranes was 13 μm calculated from the adsorptive ability, which matched very well with the result measured by scanning electron micrograph. The results also shown that zeolite membranes have greated adsorptive ability than zeolite powders. The high Si/Al rate zeolite membranes have selective ability on ethanol/water, and this interpreted the separation of ethanol-water mixtures with the membranes.     

Separation of six xanthones from Swertia franchetiana by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

In our present study, two groups of xanthones isomers (1‐hydroxy‐3,5,8‐trimethoxyxanthone and 1‐hydroxy‐3,7,8‐trimethoxyxanthone; 1,8‐dihydroxy‐3,7‐dimethoxyxanthone and 1,8‐dihydroxy‐3,5‐dimethanolxanthone) and other two xanthones (3‐methoxy‐1,5,8‐trihydroxyxanthone and 3,5‐dimethoxy‐1‐hydroxyxanthone) were separated from Swertia franchetiana . First, a solvent system composed of petroleum ether/methanol/water (2:1:0.6, v/v) was developed for the liquid–liquid extraction of these xanthones from the crude extract. Then, an efficient method was established for the one‐step separation of these six xanthones by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography using n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/ethanol/water (HEMEW; 6:4:4:2:4, v/v) as the solvent system. The results showed that liquid–liquid extraction could be well developed for efficient enrichment of target compounds. Additionally, high‐speed countercurrent chromatography could be a powerful technology for separation xanthones isomers. It was found ethanol could be a good methanol substitute when the HEMEW system could not provide good separation factors.     

A Kinetic Investigation of Regioselective Solvation of a Solvatochromic Dye in Aqueous Alcohols

The kinetics of methylation of the solvatochromic dye 4‐[(2,4‐dinitrobenzyli‐dene)imino]‐2,6‐diphenylphenolate by dimethyl sulfate was investigated in three aqueous alcohols (1‐propanol, ethanol, and methanol), in the search of a sharp change in its reactivity in water‐rich media. The observed kinetic results paralleled previous observations of a sharp change in the solvatochromic behavior of the dye in the same media and was supported by a QM/MM simulation of the dye in two methanol–water mixtures, which rationalized the observed sharp change in the phenolate reactivity.