Reversible Carbon Dioxide Capture and Release using an Electropolymerized Anthraquinone Electrode in Aqueous Solution

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) increase drives global climate change.
• Efficient carbon capture technologies are crucial for climate change mitigation.
• Electrochemical methods offer a promising route for CO2 capture.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate electrochemical CO2 capture using poly-1-aminoanthraquinone (p-1-AAQ) polymer.
• Evaluate p-1-AAQ performance on glassy carbon and carbon paper electrodes.
• Assess polymer stability and capture efficiency under various conditions.

Main Methods:

• Oxidative electropolymerization for p-1-AAQ synthesis.
• Cyclic voltammetry and potentiostatic electroswing methods for CO2 capture analysis.
• Infrared spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for characterization.

Main Results:

• p-1-AAQ coated glassy carbon electrodes showed higher Faradaic efficiencies than carbon paper.
• Carbon paper electrodes achieved a maximum CO2 capture efficiency of 76%.
• CO2 uptake capacity reached 0.17 mmolCO2 g-1 (electrode mass), with 2 CO2 molecules captured per repeating unit.

Conclusions:

• p-1-AAQ demonstrates effective electrochemical CO2 capture capabilities.
• Electrode material choice impacts capture efficiency due to interface resistance.
• The polymer shows high cyclic stability and potential for scalable carbon capture applications.