Microporous organic polymers for carbon dioxide capture

Abstract

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions are thought to be one cause of global warming. Current methods for CO₂ capture result in large energy penalties. Solid adsorbents are a potential method to capture CO₂, but the sorbent-sorbate affinity is critical in determining the energetic viability of such processes. In this study, the adsorption of CO₂ in a range of microporous organic polymers was tested. These materials adsorb up to 2.20 mmol/g CO₂ at 298 K and 1 bar, and thus performance is compared with related porous solids in the literature. The relationship between CO₂ uptake and apparent surface area and pore size is described, and this showed that heats of adsorption were important in the low pressure regime. The chemical tuning of gas-sorbent affinity provides a blueprint for the development of improved materials in this area.