Guest gas enclathration in semiclathrates of tetra-n-butylammonium bromide: stability condition and spectroscopic analysis

Clathrating CO2 in a Supramolecular Granatohedron Cage with Noncovalent CO2-NH3 Interactions and High CO2 Capture Efficiency under Ambient Conditions

Organic amine (R-NH2) reagents as dominant chemical sorbents for CO2 capture in industrial processes suffer from high energy compensation for regeneration. Herein, we, for the first time, report the finding of Co(III) coordinating with NH3 molecules regulating the interaction between NH3 and CO2 to electrostatic interactions instead of a chemical reaction and achieve CO2 capture under near-ambient conditions. NH3 coordinating with Co(III) significantly reduces its alkalinity and reactivity with CO2 owing to its lone-pair electron donation during coordination. Under a simple protocol, CO2 induces the crystallization of CO2@[Co(NH3)6][HSO4][SO4] clathrate into a hydrogen-bonded granatohedron cage from a cobaltic hexammine sulfate aqueous solution under a CO2 pressure of 56 and 142 kPa at 275 and 298 K, respectively, with a CO2 uptake weight content of 11.7%. We reveal that CO2 interacts with cobaltous hexammine via supramolecular interactions rather than chemical bonding. The clathrate spontaneously separates from the solution as single crystals and readily releases CO2 under ambient conditions in water for cyclic utilization without further treatment. In such a rapid supramolecular capture process, molecular recognition ensures exclusive CO2 selectivity, and soluble clathrate enables the spontaneous CO2 release at a low energy penalty, exhibiting excellent practical potential in carbon capture.

Thermodynamic Properties and Crystallographic Characterization of Semiclathrate Hydrates Formed with Tetra-n-butylammonium Glycolate

Semiclathrate hydrates are a crystalline host-guest material, which forms with water and ionic substances such as tetra-n-butylammonium (TBA) salts. Various anions can be used as a counter anion to the TBA cation, and they can modify thermodynamic properties of the semiclathrate hydrates, which are critical for applications, for example, cold energy storage and gas separation. In this study, the semiclathrate hydrates of the TBA glycolate were newly synthesized. Measurements for melting temperatures and a heat of fusion and a crystal structure analysis were performed. In comparison with the other similar materials, such as acetates, propionates, lactates, and hydroxybutyrates, the glycolate greatly changed the melting temperature and the heat of fusion. The preliminarily determined crystal structure showed that the glycolate anion builds a relatively porous structure compared to the previously reported hydrates formed with hydroxycarboxylates. The present study showed that substitution of a hydrophobic group by a hydrophilic group is an effective method to control the thermodynamic properties as well as to improve environmental, biological, and chemical properties.

Structure-driven CO2 selectivity and gas capacity of ionic clathrate hydrates

Ionic clathrate hydrates can selectively capture small gas molecules such as CO₂, N₂, CH₄ and H₂. We investigated CO₂ + N₂ mixed gas separation properties of ionic clathrate hydrates formed with tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB), tetra-n-butylammonium chloride (TBAC), tetra-n-butylphosphonium bromide (TBPB) and tetra-n-butylphosphonium chloride (TBPC). The results showed that CO₂ selectivity of TBAC hydrates was remarkably higher than those of the other hydrates despite less gas capacity of TBAC hydrates. The TBAB hydrates also showed irregularly high CO₂ selectivity at a low pressure. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic analyses clarified that TBAC stably formed the tetragonal hydrate structure, and TBPB and TBPC formed the orthorhombic hydrate structure. The TBAB hydrates showed polymorphic phases which may consist of the both orthorhombic and tetragonal hydrate structures. These results showed that the tetragonal hydrate captured CO₂ more efficiently than the orthorhombic hydrate, while the orthorhombic hydrate has the largest gas capacity among the basic four structures of ionic clathrate hydrates. The present study suggests new potential for improving gas capacity and selectivity of ionic clathrate hydrates by choosing suitable ionic guest substances for guest gas components.

Characterization of the ionic clathrate hydrate of tetra-n-butylammonium acrylate

The ionic clathrate hydrate of tetra-n-butylammonium (TBA) acrylate was characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The crystal structure of TBA acrylate was Jeffrey’s type III and tetragonal P42/n, with a 33.076(7) × 33.076(7) × 12.170(2) Å3 unit cell. The volume of the unit cell was 13315(5) Å3, which is almost twice that of the ideal structure. The TBA cation was disordered and located in two types of fused cages. Although the acrylate anion was located in a pentagonal dodecahedral cage neighboring the TBA cation, there is a residual acrylate anion that could be around the other TBA cation in the unit cell. Solid-state 13C NMR spectra showed that the TBA cation was clearly disordered at 173 K, but not at 239 K. NMR peaks from the acrylate anion were not observed at either temperature. This is probably because of the strong restriction on the acrylate anion by hydrogen bonding with the lattice water. Some of the characteristics of the anion and cation of the ionic guest incorporated in the hydrate structure have yet to be defined. Further research is needed to clarify complexation of the ionic clathrate hydrate and the ionic guest, and the resulting structure.

CO2 capture from simulated fuel gas mixtures using semiclathrate hydrates formed by quaternary ammonium salts

In order to investigate the feasibility of semiclathrate hydrate-based precombustion CO2 capture, thermodynamic, kinetic, and spectroscopic studies were undertaken on the semiclathrate hydrates formed from a fuel gas mixture of H2 (60%) + CO2 (40%) in the presence of quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) such as tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) and fluoride (TBAF). The inclusion of QASs demonstrated significantly stabilized hydrate dissociation conditions. This effect was greater for TBAF than TBAB. However, due to the presence of dodecahedral cages that are partially filled with water molecules, TBAF showed a relatively lower gas uptake than TBAB. From the stability condition measurements and compositional analyses, it was found that with only one step of semiclathrate hydrate formation with the fuel gas mixture from the IGCC plants, 95% CO2 can be enriched in the semiclathrate hydrate phase at room temperature. The enclathration of both CO2 and H2 in the cages of the QAS semiclathrate hydrates and the structural transition that results from the inclusion of QASs were confirmed through Raman and (1)H NMR measurements. The experimental results obtained in this study provide the physicochemical background required for understanding selective partitioning and distributions of guest gases in the QAS semiclathrate hydrates and for investigating the feasibility of a semiclathrate hydrate-based precombustion CO2 capture process.

2-Propanol as a co-guest of structure II hydrates in the presence of help gases

The enclathration of 2-propanol (2-PrOH) as a co-guest of structure II (sII) hydrates in the presence of CH4 and CO2 was experimentally verified with a focus on macroscopic phase behaviors and microscopic analytical methods such as powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and NMR spectroscopy. 2-PrOH functioned as a hydrate promoter in the CH4 + 2-PrOH systems, whereas it functioned as an apparent hydrate inhibitor in the CO2 + 2-PrOH systems despite the inclusion of 2-PrOH in the hydrate lattices. From the PXRD patterns, both double CH4 + 2-PrOH and double CO2 + 2-PrOH hydrates were identified to be cubic (Fd3m) sII hydrates. From the (13)C NMR spectra, it was found that, at a lower 2-PrOH concentration, the small 5(12) cages of the sII hydrate were occupied by CH4 molecules only, whereas the large 5(12)6(4) cages were shared by CH4 and 2-PrOH molecules. However, at a stoichiometric concentration, the large cages were occupied by 2-PrOH molecules only, and the corresponding chemical formula for this concentration is 1.50CH4·0.98 2-PrOH·17H2O.