One-Pot Synthesis of Melamine Formaldehyde Resin-Derived N-Doped Porous Carbon for CO2 Capture Application

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 28; no. 4; p. 1772
• Main Authors: Yu, Qiyun, Bai, Jiali, Huang, Jiamei, Demir, Muslum, Farghaly, Ahmed A., Aghamohammadi, Parya, Hu, Xin, Wang, Linlin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 13.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Carbon dioxide; Climate change; CO2 adsorption; Energy consumption; Flue gas; Global warming; INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; KOH activation; Melamine; Melamine formaldehyde resins; Microscopy; Morphology; N-rich porous carbons; Nitrogen; Porosity; Porous materials; Recyclability; Selectivity; single-step reaction; Spectrum analysis; Surface chemistry
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules28041772

The design and synthesis of porous carbons for CO2 adsorption have attracted tremendous interest owing to the ever-soaring concerns regarding climate change and global warming. Herein, for the first time, nitrogen-rich porous carbon was prepared with chemical activation (KOH) of commercial melamine formaldehyde resin (MF) in a single step. It has been shown that the porosity parameters of the as-prepared carbons were successfully tuned by controlling the activating temperature and adjusting the amount of KOH. Thus, as-prepared N-rich porous carbon shows a large surface area of 1658 m2/g and a high N content of 16.07 wt%. Benefiting from the unique physical and textural features, the optimal sample depicted a CO2 uptake of up to 4.95 and 3.30 mmol/g at 0 and 25 °C under 1 bar of pressure. More importantly, as-prepared adsorbents show great CO2 selectivity over N2 and outstanding recyclability, which was prominently important for CO2 capture from the flue gases in practical application. An in-depth analysis illustrated that the synergetic effect of textural properties and surface nitrogen decoration mainly determined the CO2 capture performance. However, the textural properties of carbons play a more important role than surface functionalities in deciding CO2 uptake. In view of cost-effective synthesis, outstanding textural activity, and the high adsorption capacity together with good selectivity, this advanced approach becomes valid and convenient in fabricating a unique highly efficient N-rich carbon adsorbent for CO2 uptake and separation from flue gases.