• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.506-510
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• 2018

Nitrogen is a serious contaminant in natural gas because it decreases the energy density. The natural gas specification in South Korea requires a $N_2$ content of less than 1 mol%. Thus, cost-effective $N_2$ removal technology from natural gas is necessary, but until now the only option has been energy-intensive processes, e.g., cryogenic distillation. Using porous materials for the removal process would be beneficial for an efficient separation of $CH_4/N_2$ mixtures, but this still remains one of the challenges in modern separation technology due to the very similar size of the components. Among various porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) present a promising candidate for the potential $CH_4/N_2$ separation material due to their unique structural flexibility. A MIL-53(Al), the most well-known flexible metal-organic framework, creates dynamic changes with closed pore (cp) transitions to open pores (ops), also called the 'breathing' phenomenon. We demonstrate the separation performance of $CH_4/N_2$ mixtures of MIL-53(Al) and its derivative $MIL-53-NH_2$. The $CH_4/N_2$ selectivity of $MIL-53-NH_2$ is higher than pristine MIL-53(Al), suggesting a stronger $CH_4$ interaction with $NH_2$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.417-422
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• 2018

The stereotype of flexible MOFs(Amino-MIL-53) and carbonized porous carbon prepared from renewable resources is successfully synthesized for $CO_2$ reduction application. The textural properties of these microporous materials are investigated, and their $CO_2$ storage capacity and separation performance are evaluated. Owing to the combined effects of $CO_2-Amino$ interaction and its flexibility, a $CO_2$ uptake of $2.5mmol\;g^{-1}$ is observed in Amino-MIL-53 at 20 bar 298 K. In contrast, $CH_4$ uptake in Amino-MIL-53 is very low up to 20 bar, implying potential sorbent for $CO_2/CH_4$ separation. Carbonized samples contain a small quantity of metal residues(K, Ca, Mg, S), resulting in naturally doped porous carbon. Due to the trace metal, even higher $CO_2$ uptake of $4.7mmol\;g^{-1}$ is also observed at 20 bar 298 K. Furthermore, the $CH_4$ storage capacity is $2.9mmol\;g^{-1}$ at 298 K and 20 bar. To evaluate the $CO_2$ separation performance, the selectivity based on ideal adsorption solution theory for $CO_2/CH_4$ binary mixtures on the presented porous materials is investigated.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2022

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous materials with nano-sized pores. The degree of gas adsorption and pore size can be controlled according to types of metal ions and organic ligands. Many studies have been conducted on MOFs in the fields of gas storage and separation, and gas sensors. For rapid and quantitative gas adsorption/desorption analyses, it is necessary to form various MOF structures in uniform films on a sensor surface. In this review, some of representative direct methods for uniformly synthesizing MOFs such as MIL-53 (Al), ZIF-8, and Cu-BDC from anodized aluminum oxide, zinc oxide nanorods, and copper thin films, respectively on the surface of a microresonator are highlighted. In addition, the operation principle of quartz crystal microbalance and microcantilever, which are representative microresonators, and the interpretation of signals that change when gas is adsorbed to MOFs are covered. This is intended to enhance the understanding of gas adsorption/desorption analysis of MOFs using microresonators.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.136-141
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• 2018

Carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) exists not only as a component of natural gas, biogas, and landfill gas, but also as a major combustion product of fossil fuels which leads to a major contributor to greenhouse gases. Hence it is essential to reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) in order to obtain high fuel efficiency of internal combustion engine, to prevent corrosion of gas transportation system, and to cope with climate change preemptively. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in not only conventional membrane-based separation but also new adsorbent-based separation technology. Particularly, in the case of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), it has been received tremendous attentions due to its unique properties (eg : flexibility, gate effect or strong binding site such as open metal sites) which are different from those of typical porous adsorbents. Therefore, in this study, stereotype of two MOFs have been selected as its flexible MOFs (MIL-53) representative and numerous open metal sites MOFs (MOF-74) representative, and compared each other for $CO_2/CH_4$ separation performance. Furthermore, varying and changeable separation performance conditions depending on the temperature, pressure or samples' unique properties are discussed.