Efficient Light-Driven CO₂ Capture and Reversible Release Enabled by Metastable Photoacid-Decorated Metal-Organic...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Point source carbon capture is vital for climate change mitigation.
• Integrating CO2 capture with renewables faces challenges in energy-intensive regeneration.
• Photoacid-based systems offer a light-regulated, low-energy alternative for CO2 capture and release.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop efficient photodriven CO2 release systems.
• To utilize coassembled amino-functionalized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and metastable photoacids.
• To enable light-triggered CO2 capture and release under mild conditions.

Main Methods:

• Coassembly of amino-functionalized MOFs with metastable photoacids.
• Utilizing photonic energy to modulate acidity for CO2 release.
• Testing a U-shaped continuous-flow prototype for CO2 release.

Main Results:

• The optimized system released 12 mL of CO2 per mmol photoacid from flue gas within 3 min of light exposure.
• CO2 capture ability regenerated during a 5 min dark period.
• The continuous-flow prototype achieved a CO2 release rate of 0.11 mL min⁻¹.

Conclusions:

• Efficient photodriven CO2 release systems were realized through MOF and photoacid coassembly.
• The system demonstrates rapid, light-triggered CO2 release and regeneration under mild conditions.
• A continuous-flow prototype shows potential for practical applications in CO2 capture.