Synthesis of Boron-Doped Porous Carbons from Water Chestnut Shells and Their Roles in CO₂ Capture Applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Porous carbons are vital for carbon capture due to their unique properties.
• Developing sustainable, heteroatom-doped porous carbons from biomass is a key research area.
• Tailoring porosity and surface chemistry enhances adsorption capacity for efficient CO2 capture.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize boron-doped porous carbons from renewable water chestnut shells.
• To evaluate the CO2 adsorption performance of the synthesized materials.
• To investigate the role of boron doping and pore structure in CO2 capture.

Main Methods:

• Utilized KOH activation process for synthesizing porous carbons.
• Employed water chestnut shells as the biomass precursor.
• Incorporated boric acid as the boron source during synthesis.

Main Results:

• Synthesized porous carbons exhibited a well-developed porous structure with rich boron functionalities.
• Achieved maximum CO2 adsorption capacities of 4.82 mmol g-1 at 25 °C and 7.01 mmol g-1 at 0 °C (1 bar).
• Attributed high adsorption to narrow microporosity, with boric acid indirectly influencing pore formation.

Conclusions:

• Boron-doped porous carbons from water chestnut shells are effective CO2 sorbents.
• The materials demonstrate potential for sustainable and efficient carbon capture applications.
• The study provides insights into the mechanisms of enhanced CO2 adsorption.