Possessing porosity and crystallinity, Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as excellent materials for CO2 capture. When tuned with the desired pore size, MOFs have a significant capture uptake and selectivity toward CO2. However, there are several challenges with the direct application of MOFs on an industrial scale due to their instability under humidity and their inherent forms of nanoparticles, causing a high pressure drop across the system. Therefore, it is crucial to design a novel support system that can minimize the pressure drop within the reactor while protecting MOFs from water. This study proposes integrating a monolith support system with a hydrophobic, CO2 permeable layer coating via solvent evaporation and UV-curing. First, several types of MOFs are synthesized and loaded onto monoliths with optimized thickness. Then, encapsulated MOFs will be characterized both physically and chemically using powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), SEM-EDS, and TGA. The CO2 capture capacities are evaluated at different temperatures (20 – 60 ) and pressures (400 ppm – 1 atm) with a wide range of humidity (0 – 100% R.H). The selectivity of encapsulated MOFs toward CO2 compared to competing gases such as N2 and O2 are investigated. CO2 capture mechanisms within the encapsulated MOFs are studied to understand the mass transfer behaviors through different layers of encapsulated MOF monoliths. Finally, we explore a novel strategy of encapsulating MOFs to improve their operational challenges in a wider environmental condition.

Development of water-stable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) monolith systems for direct air capture

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.