Hexafluoroethane (C₂F₆), as a crucial fluorinated electronic specialty gas, is widely used in many industries. In the electronics industry, developing stable, efficient and scalably synthesized adsorbents for the removal of hydrofluoroethanes is of great importance to obtain high-purity C₂F₆.

In a study published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Prof. WU Mingyan from Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and collaborators synthesized a stable microporous hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF-TDBB) with electrostatic potential matching pores for hydrofluoroethanes, realizing one-step C₂F₆ purification from CF₃CH₂F/CF₃CHF₂/C₂F₆ mixture.

Researchers found that the adsorbents with multiple electronegative/electropositive sites and appropriate pore sizes could realize high-efficiency C

₂F₆ purification from CF₃CH₂F and CF₃CHF₂ mixtures. The abundance of aromatic rings and the high-density carboxylate oxygen atoms distributed on the pore surface of HOF-TDBB, providing CF₃CH₂F and CF₃CHF₂ preferred environment.

The adsorption experiment showed that HOF-TDBB could preferentially absorb CF₃CH₂F and CF₃CHF₂. At 298 K and 1 bar, the adsorption amounts and diffusivities were much higher than those for C₂F₆. Separation experiments showed that 11.7 mol kg^-1 of high-purity (>99.99%) C₂F₆ could be obtained from ternary CF₃CH₂F/CF₃CHF₂/C₂F₆ mixture.

Researchers found that HOF-TDBB could be synthesized on a large scale using a simple rotary evaporation method. The samples synthesized using this method exhibited high crystallinity and C₂F₆ purification efficiency similar to single crystal samples. Besides, HOF-TDBB displayed exceptional stability in air, common organic solvents and water.