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Aminopolymer Confined in Ethane‐Silica Nanotubes for CO 2 Capture from Ambient Air
Author(s) -
Liu Lina,
Chen Jian,
Tao Lin,
Li He,
Yang Qihua
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemnanomat
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.947
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 2199-692X
DOI - 10.1002/cnma.201900742
Subject(s) - polyethylenimine , mesoporous material , chemical engineering , materials science , carbon nanotube , nanotube , adsorption , mesoporous silica , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , transfection , biochemistry , engineering , gene
Direct air capture as the only way for reducing current CO 2 concentration in air is very challenging, however, due to the low CO 2 concentration (ca. 400 ppm). Herein, we reported an efficient adsorbent for CO 2 capture, which was prepared by the encapsulation of polyethylenimine (PEI) in ethane‐silica nanotubes with diameter less than 10 nm. Compared with bulk mesoporous silicas/ethane‐silicas, the PEI tends to be highly dispersed in the nanotubes due to the co‐existence of both tubular channels and intervoid space. Consequently, the PEI encapsulated in nanotubes showed much higher N efficiency (0.22 mol CO 2 /mol N at 30 °C and 0.1 bar) and CO 2 uptake capacity than that encapsulated in the bulk mesoporous silicas. It was also observed that the dispersed PEI not directly interacted with the pore wall, afforded high N efficiency. Results of the breakthrough experiments using simulated air (400 ppm CO 2 /N 2 ) showed that PEI encapsulated in nanotubes with CO 2 uptake capacity of 1.0 mmol/g, fast equilibrium time and high stability are promising for CO 2 capture from air.