Capturing carbon dioxide from air with charged-sorbents

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Li, Huaiguang; Zick, Mary E.; Trisukhon, Teedhat; Signorile, Matteo; Liu, Xinyu; Eastmond, Helen; Sharma, Shivani; Spreng, Tristan L.; Taylor, Jack; Gittins, Jamie W.; Farrow, Cavan; Lim, S. Alexandra; Crocella, Valentina; Milner, Phillip J.; Forse, Alexander C.
• 署名单位: University of Cambridge; The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; Cornell University; University of Turin
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-6600
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07449-2
• 发表日期: 2024-06-20
• 页码: 654-+
• 关键词: ambient air; co2; nmr; adsorption; storage

摘要

Emissions reduction and greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere are both necessary to achieve net-zero emissions and limit climate change(1). There is thus a need for improved sorbents for the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, a process known as direct air capture. In particular, low-cost materials that can be regenerated at low temperatures would overcome the limitations of current technologies. In this work, we introduce a new class of designer sorbent materials known as 'charged-sorbents'. These materials are prepared through a battery-like charging process that accumulates ions in the pores of low-cost activated carbons, with the inserted ions then serving as sites for carbon dioxide adsorption. We use our charging process to accumulate reactive hydroxide ions in the pores of a carbon electrode, and find that the resulting sorbent material can rapidly capture carbon dioxide from ambient air by means of (bi)carbonate formation. Unlike traditional bulk carbonates, charged-sorbent regeneration can be achieved at low temperatures (90-100 degrees C) and the sorbent's conductive nature permits direct Joule heating regeneration(2,3) using renewable electricity. Given their highly tailorable pore environments and low cost, we anticipate that charged-sorbents will find numerous potential applications in chemical separations, catalysis and beyond.