Styrene Purification by Guest-Induced Restructuring of Pillar[6]arene

J Am Chem Soc. 2017 Mar 1;139(8):2908-2911. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b13300. Epub 2017 Feb 20.

Abstract

The separation of styrene (St) and ethylbenzene (EB) mixtures is important in the chemical industry. Here, we explore the St and EB adsorption selectivity of two pillar-shaped macrocyclic pillar[n]arenes (EtP5 and EtP6; n = 5 and 6). Both crystalline and amorphous EtP6 can capture St from a St-EB mixture with remarkably high selectivity. We show that EtP6 can be used to separate St from a 50:50 v/v St:EB mixture, yielding in a single adsorption cycle St with a purity of >99%. Single-crystal structures, powder X-ray diffraction patterns, and molecular simulations all suggest that this selectivity is due to a guest-induced structural change in EtP6 rather than a simple cavity/pore size effect. This restructuring means that the material "self-heals" upon each recrystallization, and St separation can be carried out over multiple cycles with no loss of performance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't