Electrical current stimulated desorption of carbon dioxide adsorbed on graphene based structures

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate Joule heating/electric swing adsorption (ESA) as a mode of regeneration and to compare the carbon dioxide (CO₂) adsorption capacity of pristine graphene films and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogels. Joule heating/ESA has not been previously demonstrated in graphene based structures. Various forms of graphene have been previously evaluated for their use as a CO₂ adsorbent, but most of these studies have focused on graphene oxide powders and films. We utilize both pristine graphene and rGO; we also highlight regeneration through Joule heating in contrast to heating under vacuum or by pressure swing. The amount of CO₂ captured by graphene films and rGO aerogels was 0.52 ± 0.02 and 0.94 ± 0.02 g of CO₂ per g of adsorbate, respectively. This adsorption capacity of pristine graphene films and rGO aerogels was found to be stable over multiple samples and multiple cycles of adsorption and electrical current stimulated desorption.