Absolute CO₂/Xenon Separation in Ultramicropore MOF for Anesthetic Gases Regeneration

Abstract

Xe is an ideal anesthetic gas, but it has not been widely used in practice due to its high cost and low output. Closed‐circuit Xe recovery and recycling is an economically viable method to ensure adequate supply in medical use. Herein, we design an innovative way to recover Xe by using a stable fluorinated metal‐organic framework (MOF) NbOFFIVE‐1‐Ni to eliminate CO2 from moist exhaled anesthetic gases. Unlike other Xe recovery MOFs with low Xe/CO2 selectivity (less than 10), NbOFFIVE‐1‐Ni could achieve absolute molecular sieve separation of CO2/Xe with excellent CO2 selectivity (825). Mixed‐gas breakthrough experiments assert the potential of NbOFFIVE‐1‐Ni as a molecular sieve adsorbent for the effective and energy‐efficient removal of carbon dioxide with 99.16% Xe recovery. Absolute CO2/Xe separation in NbOFFIVE‐1‐Ni makes closed‐circuit Xe recovery and recycling can be easily realized, demonstrating the potential of NbOFFIVE‐1‐Ni for important anesthetic gas regeneration under ambient conditions.