Rigid molecular sieving materials work well for small molecules with the complete exclusion of large ones^1,2,3, and molecules with matching physiochemical properties may be separated using dynamic molecular sieving materials^4,5,6. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)^7,8,9 are known for their precise control of structures and functions on a molecular level^{10,11,12,13,14,15}. However, the rational design of local flexibility in the MOF framework for dynamic molecular sieving remains difficult and challenging. Here we report a MOF material (JNU-3a) featuring one-dimension channels with embedded molecular pockets opening to propylene (C₃H₆) and propane (C₃H₈) at substantially different pressures. The dynamic nature of the pockets is revealed by single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation upon exposure of JNU-3a to an atmosphere of C₃H₆ or C₃H₈. Breakthrough experiments demonstrate that JNU-3a can realize high-purity C₃H₆ (≥99.5%) in a single adsorption–desorption cycle from an equimolar C₃H₆/C₃H₈ mixture over a broad range of flow rates, with a maximum C₃H₆ productivity of 53.5 litres per kilogram. The underlying separation mechanism—orthogonal-array dynamic molecular sieving—enables both large separation capacity and fast adsorption–desorption kinetics. This work presents a next-generation sieving material design that has potential for applications in adsorptive separation.

刚性分子筛材料适用于完全排除大分子的小分子^1,2,3，具有匹配物理化学性质的分子可以使用动态分子筛材料^4,5,6进行分离。金属有机框架 (MOF) ^7,8,9以其在分子水平上对结构和功能的精确控制而闻名^{10,11,12,13,14,15}。然而，动态分子筛分 MOF 框架中局部柔性的合理设计仍然困难且具有挑战性。在这里，我们报告了一种 MOF 材料 (JNU-3a)，该材料具有一维通道，其中嵌入的分子袋对丙烯 (C ₃ H ₆ ) 和丙烷 (C ₃ H ) 开放₈ ) 在显着不同的压力下。_{在 JNU-3a 暴露于 C 3} H ₆或 C ₃ H ₈的气氛中时，通过单晶到单晶的转变揭示了口袋的动态特性。突破性实验表明，JNU-3a 可以在很宽的流速范围内从等摩尔 C ₃ H ₆ /C ₃ H ₈混合物的单个吸附-解吸循环中实现高纯度 C ₃ H ₆ (≥99.5%)，具有最大 C ₃ H ₆生产率为每公斤 53.5 升。潜在的分离机制——正交阵列动态分子筛分——能够实现大的分离容量和快速的吸附-解吸动力学。这项工作提出了下一代筛分材料设计，该设计具有吸附分离应用的潜力。