Role of Additives in Composite PEI/Oxide CO₂ Adsorbents: Enhancement in the Amine Efficiency of Supported PEI by PEG in CO₂ Capture from Simulated Ambient Air

Dual-Tuning Azole-Based Ionic Liquids for Reversible CO2 Capture from Ambient Air

A strategy of tuning azole-based ionic liquids for reversible CO2 capture from ambient air was reported. Through tuning the basicity of anion as well as the type of cation, an ideal azole-based ionic liquid with both high CO2 capacity and excellent stability was synthesized, which exhibited a highest single-component isotherm uptake of 2.17 mmol/g at the atmospheric CO2 concentration of 0.4 mbar at 30 °C, even in the presence of water. The bound CO2 can be released by relatively mild heating of the IL-CO2 at 80 °C, which makes it promising for energy-efficient CO2 desorption and sorbent regeneration, leading to excellent reversibility. To the best of our knowledge, these azole-based ionic liquids are superior to other adsorbent materials for direct air capture due to their dual-tunable properties and high CO2 capture efficiency, offering a new prospect for efficient and reversible direct air capture technologies.

Development and Characterization of Polyethylenimine-Infiltrated Mesoporous Silica Foam Pellets for CO2 Capture

Polyethylenimine (PEI) has been shown to be promising for direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide and has potential for commercial scale-up globally. Laboratory scale processes include multiple steps, such as mixing, solvent extraction, vacuum application, sonication, and various flushes and activation steps. It is critical to properly control these operating parameters to achieve higher capture capacity as a result of the optimized material configuration. This study adopts previously published pelletization processes for PEI-infiltrated mesoporous foam silica (mesoporous silica foam) to uncover the adsorption mechanisms and optimize the associated fabrication steps, such as sonication, to achieve higher sorbent productivity. A high capture capacity was achieved at 46 °C for 75 wt % PEI loading (2.27 mmol/g) followed by PEI_MSF 70 (1.81 mmol/g) and PEI_MSF 80 (1.44 mmol/g). As part of the optimization, sonication parameters of frequency, amplitude, and time were modified for PEI_MSF 75 sorbent, which resulted in the highest uptake capacity of 3.04 mmol/g (sonicated at 40 kHz and a wave amplitude of 50% for 30 s). These preliminary results would tend to prove that sonication energy affects carbon capture capacity, although there is still a lack of understanding regarding the exact underlying mechanism, suggesting the need for further investigation. It is important to note that the present work is focused on the adsorption mechanisms and not desorption or durability of the capture performance. Ongoing research addresses these factors. This paper is intended to establish baseline DAC behavior of a promising capture medium and begins probing the optimization spectrum by considering the effects of sonication energy on adsorption. Ongoing work intends to address potential abbreviations of the full range of process steps and furthers the understanding of kinetics by considering the desorption and resorption attributes.

Underlying Roles of Polyol Additives in Promoting CO2 Capture in PEI/Silica Adsorbents

Solid-supported amines having low molecular weight branched poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) physically impregnated into porous solid supports are promising adsorbents for CO2 capture. Co-impregnating short-chain poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) together with PEI alters the performance of the adsorbent, delivering improved amine efficiency (AE, mol CO2 sorbed/mol N) and faster CO2 uptake rates. To uncover the physical basis for this improved gas capture performance, we probe the distribution and mobility of the polymers in the pores via small angle neutron scattering (SANS), solid-state NMR, and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation studies. SANS and MD simulations reveal that PEG displaces wall-bound PEI, making amines more accessible for CO2 sorption. Solid-state NMR and MD simulation suggest intercalation of PEG into PEI domains, separating PEI domains and reducing amine-amine interactions, providing potential PEG-rich and amine-poor interfacial domains that bind CO2 weakly via physisorption while providing facile pathways for CO2 diffusion. Contrary to a prior literature hypothesis, no evidence is obtained for PEG facilitating PEI mobility in solid supports. Instead, the data suggest that PEG chains coordinate to PEI, forming larger bodies with reduced mobility compared to PEI alone. We also demonstrate promising CO2 uptake and desorption kinetics at varied temperatures, facilitated by favorable amine distribution.

Dielectric Analysis of Blended Polysulfone/Polyethylenimine Membrane Contactors for CO2 Capture

Polysulfone membranes, used as contactors for CO2 capture, are blended with two different hyperbranched polyethyleneimines modified with benzoyl chloride (Additive 1) and phenyl isocyanate (Additive 2) in different percentages. Fourier-transformed infrared spectra evidence the presence of urea and amide groups, whereas the field emission scanning electron microscopy images show differences in the microstructure of the blended membranes. Dielectric spectra determine the motions of the side and backbone chains, which can facilitate the diffusion of CO2 . The spectra consist of six dielectric processes; three of them are due to the polysulfone (γPSf , βPSf , and αPSf ), whereas the rest are characteristic of the additive (γHPEI , βHPEI , and αHPEI ). The benzoyl chloride and phenyl isocyanate functional groups introduce variations in molecular mobility and modify the relaxations associated with the hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (HPEI). The additives also increase the conductivity of the blended membranes, which can compromise the performance of the membranes, specifically in the case of Additive 1. Ion hopping is found to be the prevailing charge transport mechanism while both relaxations, αHPEI and αPSf , are actives. These results, together with the final morphology of the membranes, may explain the greater absorption capacity of the membranes prepared with the hyperbranched polyethyleneimine modified with Additive 2.

Developing High-Capacity Solid "Molecular Basket" Sorbents for Selective CO2 Capture and Separation

ConspectusSince carbon-based energy continues to dominate (over 80%) the global primary energy supply, carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) is deemed to be a promising and viable option to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, for which CO2 capture is critical to the overall success of CCUS. Although liquid amine scrubbing is a mature technology for carbon capture, it is energy-intensive and costly due to energy consumption in solvent heating and water evaporation apart from the energy needed to break amine-CO2 bonding. To address this challenge, Song's group developed a new design approach for adsorptive CO2 capture and separation, namely, "molecular basket" sorbents (MBS), without the need for dealing with solvent heating and water evaporation. The solid MBS consisting of polymeric amines (such as PEI) immobilized into nanoporous materials (such as SBA-15) possesses a high capacity for CO2 capture with high selectivity, fast kinetics, and good regenerability. Consequently, MBS can greatly reduce energy consumption and carbon capture cost. Conventional adsorbents such as zeolites, activated carbon, alumina, and silica have low adsorption capacities, and their use of CO2 adsorption requires prior removal of moisture and cooling of flue gas (∼35 °C). On the contrast, the CO2 sorption capacity of MBS can even be promoted by the presence of moisture/steam and reaches the best performance closer to flue gas temperature (∼75 °C). This Account presents an overview of our research progress in the material development and fundamental understanding of MBS for CO2 capture and the separation of CO2 from various gas streams. It begins with an illustration of the MBS concept, followed by efforts to improve the performance and pilot-scale demonstration of MBS for CO2 capture. With the systematic characterization of MBS by various ex situ and in situ techniques, a better understanding is developed for the CO2 sorption process mechanistically. Furthermore, this Account demonstrates how the fundamental understanding of the CO2 sorption mechanism promotes the further development of more robust and advanced sorbent materials with improved CO2 sorption capacity, kinetics of sorption and desorption, and cyclic stability. Finally, an outlook is provided for the future design and development of novel sorbent materials and the CO2 sorption process for various gas streams including flue gas, biogas, air, and hydrogen streams.

Distribution and Mobility of Amines Confined in Porous Silica Supports Assessed via Neutron Scattering, NMR, and MD Simulations: Impacts on CO2 Sorption Kinetics and Capacities

ConspectusSolid-supported amines are a promising class of CO2 sorbents capable of selectively capturing CO2 from diverse sources. The chemical interactions between the amine groups and CO2 give rise to the formation of strong CO2 adducts, such as alkylammonium carbamates, carbamic acids, and bicarbonates, which enable CO2 capture even at low driving force, such as with ultradilute CO2 streams. Among various solid-supported amine sorbents, oligomeric amines infused into oxide solid supports (noncovalently supported) are widely studied due to their ease of synthesis and low cost. This method allows for the construction of amine-rich sorbents while minimizing problems, such as leaching or evaporation, that occur with supported molecular amines.Researchers have pursued improved sorbents by tuning the physical and chemical properties of solid supports and amine phases. In terms of CO2 uptake, the amine efficiency, or the moles of sorbed CO2 per mole of amine sites, and uptake rate (CO2 capture per unit time) are the most critical factors determining the effectiveness of the material. While structure-property relationships have been developed for different porous oxide supports, the interaction(s) of the amine phase with the solid support, the structure and distribution of the organic phase within the pores, and the mobility of the amine phase within the pores are not well understood. These factors are important, because the kinetics of CO2 sorption, particularly when using the prototypical amine oligomer branched poly(ethylenimine) (PEI), follow an unconventional trend, with rapid initial uptake followed by a very slow, asymptotic approach to equilibrium. This suggests that the uptake of CO2 within such solid-supported amines is mass transfer-limited. Therefore, improving sorption performance can be facilitated by better understanding the amine structure and distribution within the pores.In this context, model solid-supported amine sorbents were constructed from a highly ordered, mesoporous silica SBA-15 support, and an array of techniques was used to probe the soft matter domains within these hybrid materials. The choice of SBA-15 as the model support was based on its ordered arrangement of mesopores with tunable physical and chemical properties, including pore size, particle lengths, and surface chemistries. Branched PEI─the most common amine phase used in solid CO2 sorbents─and its linear, low molecular weight analogue, tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA), were deployed as the amine phases. Neutron scattering (NS), including small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS), alongside solid-state NMR (ssNMR) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, was used to elucidate the structure and mobility of the amine phases within the pores of the support. Together, these tools, which have previously not been applied to such materials, provided new information regarding how the amine phases filled the support pores as the loading increased and the mobility of those amine phases. Varying pore surface-amine interactions led to unique trends for amine distributions and mobility; for instance, hydrophilic walls (i.e., attractive to amines) resulted in hampered motions with more intimate coordination to the walls, while amines around hydrophobic walls or walls with grafted chains that interrupt amine-wall coordination showed recovered mobility, with amines being more liberated from the walls. By correlating the structural and dynamic properties with CO2 sorption properties, novel relationships were identified, shedding light on the performance of the amine sorbents, and providing valuable guidance for the design of more effective supported amine sorbents.

Mixed Diethanolamine and Polyethyleneimine with Enhanced CO2 Capture Capacity from Air

Supported polyethyleneimine (PEI) adsorbent is one of the most promising commercial direct air capture (DAC) adsorbents with a long research history since 2002. Although great efforts have been input, there are still limited improvements for this material in its CO₂ capacity and adsorption kinetics under ultradilute conditions. Supported PEI also suffers significantly reduced adsorption capacities when working at sub-ambient temperatures. This study reports that mixing diethanolamine (DEA) into supported PEI can increase 46% and 176% of pseudoequilibrium CO₂ capacities at DAC conditions compared to the supported PEI and DEA, respectively. The mixed DEA/PEI functionalized adsorbents maintain the adsorption capacity at sub-ambient temperatures of -5 to 25 °C. In comparison, a 55% reduction of CO₂ capacity is observed for supported PEI when the operating temperature decreases from 25 to -5 °C. In addition, the supported mixed DEA/PEI with a ratio of 1:1 also shows fast desorption kinetics at temperatures as low as 70 °C, resulting in maintaining high thermal and chemical stability over 50 DAC cycles with a high average CO₂ working capacity of 1.29 mmol g^-1 . These findings suggest that the concept of "mixed amine", widely studied in the solvent system, is also practical to supported amine for DAC applications.

Wood-Inspired Ultrafast High-Performance Adsorbents for CO2 Capture

Under favorable regeneration conditions (120 °C, 100% CO₂), ultrafast adsorption kinetics and excellent long-term cycle stability are still the biggest obstacles for amine-based solid CO₂ adsorbents. Inspired by natural wood, a biochar with a highly ordered pore structure and excellent thermal conductivity was prepared and used as a carrier of organic amines to prepare ideal CO₂ adsorbents. The results showed that the prepared adsorbent has a very high adsorption working capacity (4.23 mmol CO₂·g^-1), and its performance remains stable even after 30 adsorption-desorption cycles in the harsh desorption environment (120 °C, 100% CO₂). Due to the existence of the hierarchical structure, the adsorbent exhibited ultra-fast adsorption kinetics, and the reaction rate constant is 37 times higher than that of traditional silica. This adsorbent also showed a very low regeneration heat of 1.64 MJ·kg^-1 (CO₂), which is especially important for the practical application. Therefore, these biochar-based adsorbents derived from natural wood make the CO₂ capture process promising.

Emerging trends in direct air capture of CO2: a review of technology options targeting net-zero emissions

The increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has compelled researchers and policymakers to seek urgent solutions to address the current global climate change challenges. In order to keep the global mean temperature at approximately 1.5 °C above the preindustrial era, the world needs increased deployment of negative emission technologies. Among all the negative emissions technologies reported, direct air capture (DAC) is positioned to deliver the needed CO2 removal in the atmosphere. DAC technology is independent of the emissions origin, and the capture machine can be located close to the storage or utilization sites or in a location where renewable energy is abundant or where the price of energy is low-cost. Notwithstanding these inherent qualities, DAC technology still has a few drawbacks that need to be addressed before the technology can be widely deployed. As a result, this review focuses on emerging trends in direct air capture (DAC) of CO2, the main drivers of DAC systems, and the required development for commercialization. The main findings point to undeniable facts that DAC's overall system energy requirement is high, and it is the main bottleneck in DAC commercialization.

Recent advances in direct air capture by adsorption

Significant progress has been made in direct air capture (DAC) in recent years. Evidence suggests that the large-scale deployment of DAC by adsorption would be technically feasible for gigatons of CO₂ capture annually. However, great efforts in adsorption-based DAC technologies are still required. This review provides an exhaustive description of materials development, adsorbent shaping, in situ characterization, adsorption mechanism simulation, process design, system integration, and techno-economic analysis of adsorption-based DAC over the past five years; and in terms of adsorbent development, affordable DAC adsorbents such as amine-containing porous materials with large CO₂ adsorption capacities, fast kinetics, high selectivity, and long-term stability under ultra-low CO₂ concentration and humid conditions. It is also critically important to develop efficient DAC adsorptive processes. Research and development in structured adsorbents that operate at low-temperature with excellent CO₂ adsorption capacities and kinetics, novel gas-solid contactors with low heat and mass transfer resistances, and energy-efficient regeneration methods using heat, vacuum, and steam purge is needed to commercialize adsorption-based DAC. The synergy between DAC and carbon capture technologies for point sources can help in mitigating climate change effects in the long-term. Further investigations into DAC applications in the aviation, agriculture, energy, and chemical industries are required as well. This work benefits researchers concerned about global energy and environmental issues, and delivers perspective views for further deployment of negative-emission technologies.

Understanding the Impacts of Support-Polymer Interactions on the Dynamics of Poly(ethyleneimine) Confined in Mesoporous SBA-15

Supported amines are a promising class of CO₂ sorbents offering large uptake capacities and fast uptake rates. Among supported amines, poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) physically impregnated in the mesopores of SBA-15 silica is widely used. Within these composite materials, the chain dynamics and morphologies of PEI strongly influence the CO₂ capture performance, yet little is known about chain and macromolecule mobility in confined pores. Here, we probe the impact of the support-PEI interactions on the dynamics and structures of PEI at the support interface and the corresponding impact on CO₂ uptake performance, which yields critical structure-property relationships. The pore walls of the support are grafted with organosilanes with different chemical end groups to differentiate interaction modes (spanning from strong attraction to repulsion) between the pore surface and PEI. Combinations of techniques, such as quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS), ¹H T₁-T₂ relaxation correlation solid-state NMR, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, are used to comprehensively assess the physical properties of confined PEI. We hypothesized that PEI would have faster dynamics when subjected to less attractive or repulsive interactions. However, we discover that complex interfacial interactions resulted in complex structure-property relationships. Indeed, both the chain conformation of the surface-grafted chains and of the PEI around the surface influenced the chain mobility and CO₂ uptake performance. By coupling knowledge of the dynamics and distributions of PEI with CO₂ sorption performance and other characteristics, we determine that the macroscopic structures of the hybrid materials dictate the first rapid CO₂ uptake, and the rate of CO₂ sorption during the subsequent gradual uptake stage is determined by PEI chain motions that promote diffusive jumps of CO₂ through PEI-packed domains.

Human Exhalation CO2 Sensor Based on the PEI-PEG/ZnO/NUNCD/Si Heterojunction Electrode

Gas sensors based on semiconductors have outstanding sensitivity compared with the oxide-based devices; however, the high operation temperature greatly hinders its development in practical applications. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the patients with severe COPD with or without exacerbation tend to have airflow obstruction, which results in an increase of CO2 concentration and subsequent hypercapnic respiratory failure. At present, COPD detection relies on professional operation; however, the patients suffer great discomfort during the arterial blood sampling. All these facts reduce patient's willingness to test their physical health. Thus, noninvasive monitoring of CO2 levels is crucial for the early diagnosis of high-risk COPD patients. A nitrogen-incorporated ultrananocrystalline diamond (NUNCD) film exhibits excellent properties in biosensing and polyetherimide-polyethylene glycol (PEI-PEG) polymer possesses a great capability of CO2 capturing. By incorporating NUNCD into PEI-PEG film, this work focuses on ameliorating the sensitivity and selectivity of the present semiconductor CO2 sensor. From the theoretical regression analyses of the experimental results, it is found that the excellent performance of the PEI-PEG/ZnO/NUNCD/Si electrode is contributed by two main reaction layers, the adsorption layer (PEI-PEG) and the electric transfer layer (ZnO/NUNCD). The selectivity is dominated by the PEI-PEG adsorption layer and the sensitivity is directly related to the changes in the work function of the ZnO/NUNCD interface. The high aspect ratio (>10) of the flower-like ZnO structure, growth from ZnO nanoparticles, can provide a more active adsorption area, as a result, extremely enhancing the sensitivity of the CO2 sensor.

Manipulating polymer composition to create low-cost, high-fidelity sensors for indoor CO2 monitoring

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) has been linked to many deleterious health effects, and it has also been used as a proxy for building occupancy measurements. These applications have created a need for low-cost and low-power CO₂ sensors that can be seamlessly incorporated into existing buildings. We report a resonant mass sensor coated with a solution-processable polymer blend of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) for the detection of CO₂ across multiple use conditions. Controlling the polymer blend composition and nanostructure enabled better transport of the analyte gas into the sensing layer, which allowed for significantly enhanced CO₂ sensing relative to the state of the art. Moreover, the hydrophilic nature of PEO resulted in water uptake, which provided for higher sensing sensitivity at elevated humidity conditions. Therefore, this key integration of materials and resonant sensor platform could be a potential solution in the future for CO₂ monitoring in smart infrastructure.

A Highly Efficient and Stable Composite of Polyacrylate and Metal-Organic Framework Prepared by Interface Engineering for Direct Air Capture

We present a kilogram-scale experiment for assessing the prospects of a novel composite material of metal-organic framework (MOF) and polyacrylates (PA), namely NbOFFIVE-1-Ni@PA, for trace CO₂ capture. Through the interfacial enrichment of metal ions and organic ligands as well as heterogeneous crystallization, the sizes of microporous NbOFFIVE-1-Ni crystals are downsized to 200-400 nm and uniformly anchored on the macroporous surface of PA via interfacial coordination, forming a unique dual-framework structure. Specifically, the NbOFFIVE-1-Ni@PA composite with a loading of 45.8 wt % NbOFFIVE-1-Ni yields a superior CO₂ uptake (ca. 1.44 mol·kg^-1) compared to the pristine NbOFFIVE-1-Ni (ca. 1.30 mol·kg^-1) at 400 ppm and 298 K, indicating that the adsorption efficiency of NbOFFIVE-1-Ni has been raised by 2.42 times. Meanwhile, the time cost for realizing a complete adsorption/desorption cycle in a fluidized bed has been shortened to 25 min, and the working capacity (ca. 0.84 mol·kg^-1) declines only by 1.3% after 2000 cycles. The device is capable of harvesting 2.1 kg of CO₂ per kilogram of composite daily from simulated air with 50% relatively humidity (RH). To the best of our knowledge, the excellent adsorption/desorption performances of NbOFFIVE-1-Ni@PA position it as the most advantageous and practically applicable candidate for trace CO₂ capture.

Effect of Extended Aging and Oxidation on Linear Poly(propylenimine)-Mesoporous Silica Composites for CO2 Capture from Simulated Air and Flue Gas Streams

Physical aging or degradation of amine-containing polymers and supported amine adsorbents is a critical issue that could limit the practical application of such materials for CO₂ capture. However, to date, there is a scarcity of studies that evaluate the long-term stability of amine-based sorbents without the exclusive use of accelerated aging tests. Here, we demonstrate that extended aging (∼2 years) of linear poly(propylenimine) (LPPI) confined in mesoporous silica (SBA-15) supports does not drastically impact the CO₂ adsorption performance under simulated flue gas (10% CO₂) and direct air capture (DAC, 400 ppm CO₂) conditions, although the behavior of the aged sorbents and polymers in the two CO₂ concentration regimes differs. The sorbents made with aged LPPI have modestly decreased CO₂ uptake performance (≲20% lower) compared to the fresh polymers, with overall good CO₂ cycling performance. The data indicate that only slow degradation occurs under the deployed ambient storage conditions. Even after extended aging, the LPPI-based sorbents preserved their ability to display stable temperature-swing cycling performance. In parallel, the impact of blending LPPI polymers of different number-average molecular weights, M_n, is evaluated, seeking to understand its impact on adsorbent performance. The results demonstrate that the blends of two M_n aged LPPI give similar CO₂ adsorption performance to adsorbents made from a single-M_n LPPI, suggesting that molecular weight will not negatively impact adsorbent performance in the studied M_n range. After an accelerated oxidation experiment, the aged LPPI sorbents retained a larger portion of the samples' original performance when cycling under simulated flue gas conditions than under DAC conditions. However, in each case, the oxidized sorbents could be cycled repeatedly with consistent uptake performance. Overall, these first of their kind extended aging tests suggest that LPPI-based amine adsorbents offer promise for long-term, stable use in carbon capture applications.

Preparation of a Solid Amine Microspherical Adsorbent with High CO2 Adsorption Capacity

Amine-skeleton solid-amine materials are promising adsorbents for CO₂ capture from flue gas. Here, a novel solid-amine microsphere was synthesized by cross-linking the skeleton poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) with ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether in a facile one-pot W/O emulsion system. The material had a remarkable CO₂ adsorption capacity of 7.28 mmol/g in the presence of moisture at 20 °C, 0.1 bar. The highest ratio of breakthrough capacity to saturation capacity was ca. 84%. According to kinetic simulation, the Avrami kinetic model could better describe the adsorption process of CO₂ under different temperatures, in which the value of R² was above 0.99 and n was between 1 and 2, indicating that both physical and chemical adsorption mechanisms were performed during adsorption. Moreover, the material had a high swelling speed. Equilibrium was established within 30 s, and the swelling ratio was 271% at equilibrium. The saturated adsorbent could be easily regenerated with a regeneration efficiency of 94.63% after six cycles. The PEI microsphere appears to be a promising candidate material for CO₂ capture from flue gas.

Technoeconomic Evaluation of a Process Capturing CO2 Directly from Air

Capturing CO2 directly from air is one of the options for mitigating the effects global climate change, and therefore determining its cost is of great interest. A process model was proposed and validated using laboratory results for adsorption/desorption of CO2, with a branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) loaded mesocellular foam (MCF) silica sorbent. The model was subjected to a Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) to evaluate the technoeconomic feasibility of the process and to identify the operating conditions which yielded the lowest cost. The objectives of the MOO were to minimize the cost of CO2 capture based on a discounted cash flow analysis, while simultaneously maximizing the quantity of CO2 captured. This optimization identified the minimum cost of capture as 612 USD tonne−1 for dry air entering the process at 25 °C, and 657 USD tonne−1 for air at 22 °C and 39% relative humidity. The latter represents more realistic conditions which can be expected for subtropical climates. The cost of direct air capture could be reduced by ~42% if waste heat was utilized for the process, and by ~27% if the kinetics of the sorbent could be improved by a factor of two. A combination of both would allow cost reductions of ~54%.

Novel Rapid Screening of Basic Immobilized Amine Sorbent/Catalyst Water Stability by a UV/Vis/Cu2+ Technique

Time-consuming thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) decomposition study is a typical practice to assess the stability of fresh and water-treated basic immobilized amine sorbents (BIAS)/catalysts. This work presents a faster and more precise spectroscopic UV/Vis/Cu²⁺ sorbent screening technique that quantifies aqueous amines washed from the BIAS by using UV-active amine/Cu²⁺ complexes. Six BIAS-based catalysts, containing different amine species and a crosslinker within silica, were treated with ultrapure water and then analyzed for their CO₂ capture performance and amine leach resistance/stability by using TGA (catalysts, approximately 4 h) and UV/Vis/Cu²⁺ techniques (wash solution, few minutes). A comparative analysis revealed that directly quantifying washed amines with UV/Vis/Cu²⁺ is 9-127 times more precise than indirect testing of the sorbents by TGA. Similar trends in the H₂ O stability profiles of the catalysts [organic content retained values (OCR)] were reported by both analysis methods, allowing UV/Vis/Cu²⁺ to replace TGA for quantifying unstable leached amines. The UV/Vis/Cu²⁺ OCR results could be used to predict the CO₂ -capture stability profile of the sorbents, confirming the reliability of this technique to rapidly screen catalyst stability and performance.

Probing Metal-Organic Framework Design for Adsorptive Natural Gas Purification

Parent and amine-functionalized analogues of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), UiO-66(Zr), MIL-125(Ti), and MIL-101(Cr), were evaluated for their hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) adsorption efficacy and post-exposure acid gas stability. Adsorption experiments were conducted through fixed-bed breakthrough studies utilizing multicomponent 1% H₂S/99% CH₄ and 1% H₂S/10% CO₂/89% CH₄ natural gas simulant mixtures. Instability of MIL-101(Cr) materials after H₂S exposure was discovered through powder X-ray diffraction and porosity measurements following adsorbent pelletization, whereas other materials retained their characteristic properties. Linker-based amine functionalities increased H₂S breakthrough times and saturation capacities from their parent MOF analogues. Competitive CO₂ adsorption effects were mitigated in mesoporous MIL-101(Cr) and MIL-101-NH₂(Cr), in comparison to microporous UiO-66(Zr) and MIL-125(Ti) frameworks. This result suggests that the installation of H₂S binding sites in large-pore MOFs could potentially enhance H₂S selectivity. In situ Fourier transform infrared measurements in 10% CO₂ and 5000 ppm H₂S environments suggest that framework hydroxyl and amine moieties serve as H₂S physisorption sites. Results from this study elucidate design strategies and stability considerations for engineering MOFs in sour gas purification applications.

Enhanced Adsorption Efficiency through Materials Design for Direct Air Capture over Supported Polyethylenimine

Until recently, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) was regarded as the most promising technology to address the alarming increase in the concentration of anthropogenic CO₂ in the atmosphere. There is now an increasing interest in carbon capture and utilization (CCU). In this context, the capture of CO₂ from air is an ideal solution to supply pure CO₂ wherever it is needed. Here, we describe innovative materials for direct air capture (DAC) with unprecedented efficiency. Polyethylenimine (PEI) was supported on PME, which is an extra-large-pore silica (pore-expanded MCM-41) with its internal surfaces fully covered by a uniform layer of readily accessible C₁₆ chains from cetyltrimethylammonium (CTMA⁺ ) cations. The CTMA⁺ layer plays a key role in enhancing the amine efficiency toward dry or humid ultradilute CO₂ (400 ppm CO₂ /N₂ ) to unprecedented levels. At the same PEI content, the amine efficiency of PEI/PME was two to four times higher than that of the corresponding calcined mesoporous silica loaded with PEI or with different combinations of C₁₆ chains and PEI. Under humid conditions, the amine efficiency of 40 wt % PEI/PME reached 7.31 mmolCO2 /g_PEI , the highest ever reported for any supported PEI in the presence of 400 ppm CO₂ . Thus, amine accessibility, which reflects both the state of PEI dispersion and the adsorption efficiency, is intimately associated with the molecular design of the adsorbent.

Poly(ethylenimine)-Functionalized Monolithic Alumina Honeycomb Adsorbents for CO2 Capture from Air

The development of practical and effective gas-solid contactors is an important area in the development of CO2 capture technologies. Target CO2 capture applications, such as postcombustion carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) from power plant flue gases or CO2 extraction directly from ambient air (DAC), require high flow rates of gas to be processed at low cost. Extruded monolithic honeycomb structures, such as those employed in the catalytic converters of automobiles, have excellent potential as structured contactors for CO2 adsorption applications because of the low pressure drop imposed on fluid moving through the straight channels of such structures. Here, we report the impregnation of poly(ethylenimine) (PEI), an effective aminopolymer reported commonly for CO2 separation, into extruded monolithic alumina to form structured CO2 sorbents. These structured sorbents are first prepared on a small scale, characterized thoroughly, and compared with powder sorbents with a similar composition. Despite consistent differences observed in the filling of mesopores with PEI between the monolithic and powder sorbents, their performance in CO2 adsorption is similar across a range of PEI contents. A larger monolithic cylinder (1 inch diameter, 4 inch length) is evaluated under conditions closer to those that might be used in large-scale applications and shows a similar performance to the smaller monoliths and powders tested initially. This larger structure is evaluated over five cycles of CO2 adsorption and steam desorption and demonstrates a volumetric capacity of 350 molCO2  m-3monolith and an equilibration time of 350 min under a 0.4 m s(-1) linear flow velocity through the monolith channels using 400 ppm CO2 in N2 as the adsorption gas at 30 °C. This volumetric capacity surpasses that of a similar technology considered previously, which suggested that CO2 could be removed from air at an operating cost as low as $100 per ton.

Spectroscopic Investigation of the Mechanisms Responsible for the Superior Stability of Hybrid Class 1/Class 2 CO2 Sorbents: A New Class 4 Category

Hybrid Class 1/Class 2 supported amine CO2 sorbents demonstrate superior performance under practical steam conditions, yet their amine immobilization and stabilization mechanisms are unclear. Uncovering the interactions responsible for the sorbents' robust features is critical for further improvements and can facilitate practical applications. We employ solid state (29)Si CP-MAS and 2-D FSLG (1)H-(13)C CP HETCOR NMR spectroscopies to probe the overall molecular interactions of aminosilane/silica, polyamine [poly(ethylenimine), PEI]/silica, and hybrid aminosilane/PEI/silica sorbents. A unique, sequential impregnation sorbent preparation method is executed in a diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) setup to decouple amine binding mechanisms at the amine-silica interface from those within bulk amine layers. These mechanisms are correlated with each sorbents' resistance to accelerated liquid H2O and TGA steam treatments (H2O stability) and to oxidative degradation (thermal stability). High percentages of CO2 capture retained (PCR) and organic content retained (OCR) values after H2O testing of N-(3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl)ethylenediamine (TMPED)/PEI and (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS)/PEI hybrid sorbents are associated with a synergistic stabilizing effect of the amine species observed during oxidative degradation (thermal gravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry, TGA-DSC). Solid state NMR spectroscopy reveals that the synergistic effect of the TMPED/PEI mixture is manifested by the formation of hydrogen-bonded PEI-NH2···NH2-TMPED and PEI-NH2···HO-Si/O-Si-O (TMPED, T(2)) linkages within the sorbent. DRIFTS further determines that PEI enhances the grafting of TMPED to silica and that PEI is dispersed among a stable network of polymerized TMPED in the bulk, utilizing H-bonded linkages. These findings provide the scientific basis for establishing a Class 4 category for aminosilane/polyamine/silica hybrid sorbents.