Adsorptive Separation of Methylfuran and Dimethylfuran by a Robust Porous Organic Cage.

As vital raw materials in the chemical industry, 2-methylfuran () and 2,5-dimethylfuran () are commonly produced as mixtures. The selective separation of and is crucial yet challenging, with significant industrial and economic implications. This study presents an energy-efficient separation technique using a robust calix[4]resorcinarene-based supramolecular porous organic cage (POC), , to effectively capture from an equimolar / mixture within 2 h, yielding 95.3% purity. The exceptional separation efficiency stems from the superior structural stability of , maintaining its initial porous crystalline structure during separation. Calculations show that forms more C-H···π hydrogen bonds with versus , accounting for its selectivity. can be easily regenerated via heat under a vacuum and reused for over five adsorption-desorption cycles without significant performance loss. This work introduces an approach to separate similar organic molecules effectively using POC materials.