Theoretical investigation of selective CO₂ capture and desorption controlled by an electric field

Low-cost carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture technologies have been studied widely. Among such technologies, the control of CO₂ adsorption by the application of an electric field to solid materials has been shown to be a promising technology that can combine high CO₂ adsorption with low energy consumption. Suitable materials must be found for electric field-assisted CO₂ adsorption. For this study, the CO₂ adsorption energies of CeO₂ partially substituted with hetero-cations were investigated using theoretical calculations. The differences in adsorption performance attributable to the application of an electric field were clarified for different doped cations. The results show that the amount of change in the CO₂ adsorption energy by the application of an electric field depended on the different doped cations. Furthermore, it is found that this difference in cations is related to the electronegativity of the doped cations. These results suggest a tuning strategy for the material properties necessary for CO₂ capture and separation using an electric field.