Microporous Borocarbonitrides B_xC_yN_z: Synthesis, Characterization, and Promises for CO₂ Capture

Porous borocarbonitrides (denoted BCN) were prepared through pyrolysis of the polymer stemmed from dehydrocoupled ethane 1,2-diamineborane (BH₃NH₂CH₂CH₂NH₂BH₃, EDAB) in the presence of F-127. These materials contain interconnected pores in the nanometer range with a high specific surface area up to 511 m² · g^-1. Gas adsorption of CO₂ demonstrated an interesting uptake (3.23 mmol · g^-1 at 0 °C), a high CO₂/N₂ selectivity as well as a significant recyclability after several adsorption-desorption cycles. For comparison's sake, a synthesized non-porous BCN as well as a commercial BN sample were studied to investigate the role of porosity and carbon doping factors in CO₂ capture. The present work thus tends to demonstrate that the two-step synthesis of microporous BCN adsorbent materials from EDAB using a bottom-up approach (dehydrocoupling followed by pyrolysis at 1100 °C) is relatively simple and interesting.