Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been served as promising cost-effective and efficient materials for CO₂ capture and separation due to their large capacity for the adsorption of gases and their chemical tenability, but development of practically useful MOF materials for CO₂ capture directly from power plants remains a challenge.

In a study published in Nature Communication , the research team led by Prof. HONG Maochun from Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (FJIRSM) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported an acid-base resistant metal-organic framework, which displayed high volumetric uptake CO₂ under ambient conditions and could directly catalyze the chemical transformation of simulated post-combustion gas CO₂ into corresponding cyclic carbonates.

To adsorb CO₂ effectively under ambient conditions, an unusual MOF  material (FJI-H14) with high density of Open metal sites (OMS) and Lewis basic sites (LBS) which can synergistically capture CO₂ molecules in the pores have been developed.

FJI-H14 not only showed extraordinary high volumetric uptake of CO₂ (171 cm³cm^{− 3}) with high selectivity under ambient conditions but was also highly resistant to water and an acid/base environment. It also could be reused without loss of adsorption capacity and prepared on a large-scale with low cost. Such high adsorption resulted from an unusual synergistic effect from multiple active sites in the pores.

Further chemical conversion of captured CO₂ to high-value products is highly attractive; however, development of MOF materials which can catalyze the direct conversion of post-combustion CO₂ still remains a challenge. FJI-H14 could directly and smoothly catalyze the chemical transformation of simulated post-combustion gas CO₂ into corresponding cyclic carbonates.

This study should be instructive for the design and discovery of more effective and practical MOF materials for the elimination of post-combustion CO₂ in the near future.

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Key R&D Program of China, the 973 Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS.

Carbon dioxide capture and conversion by acid-base resistant FJI-H14 (Image by Prof. HONG’s Group)

Contact:

Prof. HONG Maochun

Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Email: hmc@fjirsm.ac.cn