Selective adsorption of water, methanol, and ethanol by naphthalene diimide-based coordination polymers with constructed open Cu2+ metal sites and separation of ethanol/acetonitrile

The selective separation of ethanol/acetonitrile by porous materials has rarely been observed owing to their similar physicochemical properties. In this work, we report a new coordination network, [Cu2(4-pmntd)2(opd)2](4-pmntd = N,N′-bis(4-pyridymethy)naphthalene diimide, opd = disodium 1,2-benzenedicarboxylate), which exhibits selective separation of ethanol over acetonitrile. The weak coordination bonds formed by unsaturated Cu2+ sites and hydroxyl groups are the key to such performance.