The separation of
p-ethyltoluene (
PET) and
m-ethyltoluene (
MET) is one of the most challenging steps to isolate
PET
from C9 aromatic compounds due to their very close boiling points. Many
kinds of separation methods have been developed, but they involve low
efficiency and great energy consumption. Herein, we investigate the
adsorptive properties of perethylated pillar[5]arene (
EtP5), perethylated pillar[6]arene (
EtP6), perbromoethylated pillar[5]arene (
BrP5) and perbromoethylated pillar[6]arene (
BrP6) for ethyltoluene
isomers. Results show that
EtP6 and
BrP5 crystals separate
PET from a
PET/MET
equimolar mixture with purities of 95.4% and 92.0%, respectively. Both
of them show no decrease in selectivity upon cycling for 5 times.
Relatively,
EtP5 and
BrP6 crystals fail in this separation due to poor
PET capture ability and low selectivity, respectively.