Separation of p-xylene from aromatic compounds through specific inclusion by acyclic host molecule

Abstract

The separation of p-xylene from a mixture of four C₈ alkylaromatics has been realized through a highly selective inclusion by an acyclic host molecule (1) via crystallization. In the crystal structure, the guest molecule was included in the cavity of the cyclic dimer of 1. Further, the host molecule specifically discriminated p-xylene from a mixture of eight C₈ and C₉ aromatic compounds.