Self-supported fibrous porous aromatic membranes for efficient CO2/N2 separations

In this paper, we describe a new synthesis protocol for the preparation of self-supported hollow fiber membranes composed of porous aromatic framework PAF-56P and PSF. PAF-56P was facilely prepared by the cross-coupling reaction of triangle-shaped cyanuric chloride and linear p-terophenyl monomers. The prepared PAF-56P material possesses an extended conjugated network, the structure of which is confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared characterizations, as well as a permanent porosity with a BET surface area of 553.4 m(2) g(-1) and a pore size of 1.2 nm. PAF-56P was subsequently integrated with PSF matrix into PAF-56P/PSF asymmetric hollow fiber membranes via the dry jet-wet quench method employing PAF-56P/PSF suspensions. Scanning electron microscopy studies show that PAF-56P particles are embedded in the PSF matrix to form continuous membranes. Fabricated PAF-56P/PSF membranes were further exploited for CO2 capture, which was exemplified by gas separations of CO2/N2 mixtures. The PAF-56P/PSF membranes show a high selectivity of CO2 over N2 with a separation factor of 38.9 due to the abundant nitrogen groups in the PAF-56P framework. A preferred permeance for CO2 in the binary CO2/N2 gas mixture is obtained in the range of 93-141 GPU due to the large CO2 adsorption capacity and a large pore size of PAF-56P. Additionally, PAF-56P/PSF membranes exhibit excellent thermal and mechanical stabilities, which were examined by thermal analysis and gas separation tests with the dependencies of temperatures and pressures. The merits of high selectivity for CO2, good stability, and easy scale up make PAF-56P/PSF hollow fiber membranes of great interest for the industrial separations of CO2 from the gas exhausts.

PAF-derived nitrogen-doped 3D Carbon Materials for Efficient Energy Conversion and Storage

Owing to the shortage of the traditional fossil fuels caused by fast consumption, it is an urgent task to develop the renewable and clean energy sources. Thus, advanced technologies for both energy conversion (e.g., solar cells and fuel cells) and storage (e.g., supercapacitors and batteries) are being studied extensively. In this work, we use porous aromatic framework (PAF) as precursor to produce nitrogen-doped 3D carbon materials, i.e., N-PAF-Carbon, by exposing NH₃ media. The “graphitic” and “pyridinic” N species, large surface area, and similar pore size as electrolyte ions endow the nitrogen-doped PAF-Carbon with outstanding electronic performance. Our results suggest the N-doping enhance not only the ORR electronic catalysis but also the supercapacitive performance. Actually, the N-PAF-Carbon obtains ~70 mV half-wave potential enhancement and 80% increase as to the limiting current after N doping. Moreover, the N-PAF-Carbon displays free from the CO and methanol crossover effect and better long-term durability compared with the commercial Pt/C benchmark. Moreover, N-PAF-Carbon also possesses large capacitance (385 F g⁻¹) and excellent performance stability without any loss in capacitance after 9000 charge–discharge cycles. These results clearly suggest that PAF-derived N-doped carbon material is promising metal-free ORR catalyst for fuel cells and capacitor electrode materials.

Well-defined two dimensional covalent organic polymers: rational design, controlled syntheses, and potential applications

Recent developments in the design, synthesis and application of 2D covalent organic polymers are reviewed, along with some perspectives and challenges.

An efficient low-temperature route to nitrogen-doping and activation of mesoporous carbons for CO2 capture

Nitrogen-doping of soft-templated mesoporous carbons is achieved at low temperatures (230–380 °C) and high yields (>90%) by using sodium amide.

Mannitol-based acetal-linked porous organic polymers for selective capture of carbon dioxide over methane

Synthesis of mannitol-based acetal-linked porous organic polymers with considerable CO₂/CH₄ selectivity is reported.

Multi-hydroxyl-containing porous organic polymers based on phenol formaldehyde resin chemistry with high carbon dioxide capture capacity

Synthesis of multi-hydroxyl-containing porous organic polymers with considerable CO₂ capture capability and CO₂/N₂ selectivity is reported.

Synthesis of covalent triazine-based frameworks with high CO2 adsorption and selectivity

PCTF-4 with benzothiadiazole exhibited the highest CO₂ uptake (20.5 wt%) and CO₂/N₂ selectivity (56) among the reported covalent triazine-based frameworks.

Nitrogen-doped holey graphitic carbon from 2D covalent organic polymers for oxygen reduction

Using covalent organic polymer pre-cursors, we have developed a new strategy for location control of N-dopant heteroatoms in the graphitic porous carbon, which otherwise is impossible to achieve with conventional N-doping techniques. The electrocatalytic activities of the N-doped holey graphene analogues are well correlated to the N-locations, showing possibility for tailoring the structure and property of N-doped carbon nanomaterials.

Polyethylenimine-magadiite layered silicate sorbent for CO2 capture

This paper describes the preparation of a Layered Silicate Sorbent (LSS) for CO2 capture using the layered silicate magadiite and organo-magadiite modified with polyethylenimine (PEI). The sorbents were characterized and revealed the presence of PEI as well as its interaction with CO2 at low temperatures. The thermal stability of sorbents was confirmed by thermogravimetry experiments, and the adsorption capacity was evaluated by CO2-TPD experiments. Two kinds of PEI are present in the sorbent, one exposed PEI layer that is responsible for higher CO2 adsorption because its sites are external and another one, bulky PEI, capable of low CO2 adsorption due to the internal position of sites. The contribution of the exposed PEI layer may be increased by a previous exchange of CTA(+), but the presence of the surfactant decreased the total adsorption capacity. MAG-PEI25 reached a maximum adsorption capacity of 6.11 mmol g(-1) at 75 °C for 3 h of adsorption and showed a kinetic desorption of around 15 min at 150 °C.

POSS-based luminescent porous polymers for carbon dioxide sorption and nitroaromatic explosives detection

Luminescent porous polymers based on octavinylsilsequioxane and triphenylamine units show tunable porosity and luminescence, a moderate uptake of CO₂ and high sensitivity for TNT.

Nitrogen-rich porous adsorbents for CO2 capture and storage

The construction of physical or chemical adsorbents for CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) is a vital technology in the interim period on the way towards a sustainable low-carbon future. The search for efficient materials to satisfy the increasing demand for CCS has become extremely important. Porous materials, including porous silica, porous carbons, and newly developed metal-organic frameworks and porous organic polymers, possessing regular and well-defined porous geometry and having a high surface area and pore volume, have been widely studied for separations on laboratory scale. On account of the dipole-quadrupole interactions between the polarizable CO2 molecule and the accessible nitrogen site, the investigations have indicated that the incorporation of accessible nitrogen-donor groups into the pore walls of porous materials can improve the affinity to CO2 and increase the CO2 uptake capacity and selectivity. The CO2 -adsorption process based on solid nitrogen-rich porous adsorbents does generally not require heating of a large amount of water (60-70 wt%) for regeneration, while such a heating approach cannot be avoided in the regeneration of amine-based solution absorption processes. Thus, nitrogen-rich porous adsorbents show good regeneration properties without sacrificing high separation efficiency. As such, nitrogen-rich porous materials as highly promising CO2 adsorbents have been broadly fabricated and intensively investigated. This Focus Review highlights recent significant advances in nitrogen-rich porous materials for CCS.

Highly selective and stable carbon dioxide uptake in polyindole-derived microporous carbon materials

Adsorption with solid sorbents is considered to be one of the most promising methods for the capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from power plant flue gases. In this study, microporous carbon materials used for CO₂ capture were synthesized by the chemical activation of polyindole nanofibers (PIF) at temperatures from 500 to 800 °C using KOH, which resulted in nitrogen (N)-doped carbon materials. The N-doped carbon materials were found to be microporous with an optimal adsorption pore size for CO₂ of 0.6 nm and a maximum (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) BET surface area of 1185 m(2) g(-1). The PIF activated at 600 °C (PIF6) has a surface area of 527 m(2) g(-1) and a maximum CO₂ storage capacity of 3.2 mmol g(-1) at 25 °C and 1 bar. This high CO₂ uptake is attributed to its highly microporous character and optimum N content. Additionally, PIF6 material displays a high CO₂ uptake at low pressure (1.81 mmol g(-1) at 0.2 bar and 25 °C), which is the best low pressure CO₂ uptake reported for carbon-based materials. The adsorption capacity of this material remained remarkably stable even after 10 cycles. The isosteric heat of adsorption was calculated to be in the range of 42.7-24.1 kJ mol(-1). Besides the excellent CO₂ uptake and stability, PIF6 also exhibits high selectivity values for CO₂ over N₂, CH₄, and H₂ of 58.9, 12.3, and 101.1 at 25 °C, respectively, and these values are significantly higher than reported values.