A Porous Supramolecular Organic Framework for Direct CO₂ Capture and Photocatalytic Reduction From Air

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Supramolecular organic frameworks (SOFs) offer potential for CO2 capture and conversion due to their porosity and optoelectronic properties.
• Existing SOFs have not demonstrated efficient CO2 reduction capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a porous SOF for selective CO2 capture and photocatalytic reduction from air.
• To investigate the CO2 uptake, selectivity, and photocatalytic performance of the novel SOF.

Main Methods:

• Host-guest binding between cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) and a tetraphenylethylene derivative to create a porous SOF.
• Characterization of CO2 uptake capacity, CO2/N2 selectivity, and light absorption properties.
• Evaluation of photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO under solar light.

Main Results:

• The SOF exhibited a CO2 uptake capacity of 14.41 cm³ g⁻¹ and high CO2/N2 selectivity (up to 57).
• The material efficiently harvests visible light with an optical gap of 2.19 eV.
• The SOF catalyzed CO2 reduction with a stable CO production rate of 69.78 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹.

Conclusions:

• A novel porous SOF was successfully synthesized for integrated CO2 capture and photocatalytic reduction.
• The SOF demonstrates high selectivity and efficiency for CO2 conversion in a practical environment.
• This work provides a pathway for designing SOF-based photocatalysts for biomimetic CO2 reduction.