The rise in emission of greenhouse gases has brought up many concerns worldwide. Since emission reductions alone cannot be a solution to climate change, negative emission technologies are needed. Direct air capture (DAC) is one such technology that can capture CO2 directly from ambient air and reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. To achieve that, sorbents with high capturing capacity and low cost, and fast kinetics are required. The current study investigates a series of amine-based polymers with hydrophobic characteristics that utilize moisture-driven CO2 capture and release. We synthesized series of acrylate-based networks that contained a variable amount of ammonium and trifluoromethane groups to tailor the ion exchange capacity and hydrophobicity. These sorbents absorb CO2 when exposed to ambient air and release it when in contact with an aqueous solution. To further investigate the capturing capacity of the hydrophobic sorbents, they were cryomilled into powders. The powdered sorbents were then tested in moisture-swing set up for different cycle times. The capturing capacity and kinetics of the solid and powdered form factors were investigated.

Hydrophobic polymers with various ion exchange capacities for direct air capture of carbon dioxide

ACS Spring 2022

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