Tailoring the Pore Size and Chemistry of Ionic Ultramicroporous Polymers for Trace Sulfur Dioxide Capture with High Capacity and Selectivity

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie Vol. 133; no. 13; pp. 7062 - 7067
• Main Authors: Suo, Xian, Yu, Ying, Qian, Siheng, Zhou, Lin, Cui, Xili, Xing, Huabin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 22.03.2021
• Subjects: Adsorption; Anions; Atmospheric chemistry; Carbon dioxide; Chemistry; deep removal; Dynamic stability; Exploitation; ionic ultramicroporous polymers; Low pressure; Monomers; Polymers; Pore size; Porosity; Selectivity; separation; Stability tests; Sulfur; Sulfur dioxide; Sulfur dioxide recovery; Surface chemistry
• ISSN: 0044-8249; 1521-3757
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.202013448

Here we demonstrate the deep removal of SO2 with high uptake capacity (1.55 mmol g−1) and record SO2/CO2 selectivity (>5000) at ultra‐low pressure of 0.002 bar, using ionic ultramicroporous polymers (IUPs) with high density of basic anions. The successful construction of uniform ultramicropores via polymerizing ionic monomers into IUPs enables the fully exploitation of the selective anionic sites. Notably, the aperture size and surface chemistry of IUPs can be finely tuned by adjusting the branched structure of ionic monomers, which play critical roles in excluding CH4 and N2, as well as reducing the coadsorption of CO2. The swelling property of IUPs with adsorption of SO2 contributed to the high SO2 uptake capacity and high separation selectivity. Systematic investigations including static gas adsorption, dynamic breakthrough experiments, stability tests and modeling studies confirmed the efficient performance of IUPs for trace SO2 capture. The construction of ionic ultramicroporous polymers (IUPs) hosting high‐density of basic Br− anions in narrowly distributed ultramicroporosity achieves the deep removal of SO2 at ultra‐low pressure with high uptake capacity and record SO2/CO2 selectivity (>5000). The impressive thermal and water stability as well as the remarkable recycling performance make the IUPs a potential material for practical desulfurization processes.