Enhanced post-combustion CO2 capture and direct air capture by plasma surface functionalization of graphene adsorbent

Rahul Navik, Eryu Wang, Xiao Ding, Huang Yunyi, Yiyu Liu, Jia Li (Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Graphene has enormous potential to capture CO2 due to its unique properties and cost-effectiveness. However, graphene-based adsorbents have drawbacks of lower CO2 adsorption capacity and poor selectivity. This work demonstrates a one-step rapid and sustainable N2/H2 plasma treatment process to prepare graphene-based sorbent material with enhanced CO2 adsorption performance. Plasma treatment directly enriches amine species, increases surface area, and improves textural properties. The CO2 adsorption capacity increases from 1.6 to 3.3 mmol/g for capturing flue gas, and from 0.14 to 1.3 mmol/g for direct air capture (DAC). Importantly, the electrothermal property of the plasma-modified aerogels has been significantly improved, resulting in faster heating rates and significantly reducing energy consumption compared to conventional external heating for regeneration of sorbents. Modified aerogels display improved selectivity of 42 and 87 after plasma modification for 5 and 10 min, respectively. The plasma-treated aerogels display minimal loss between 17% and 19% in capacity after 40 adsorption/desorption cycles, rendering excellent stability. The N2/H2 plasma treatment of adsorbent materials would lower energy expenses and prevent negative effects on the global economy caused by climate change.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)653-664
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Energy Chemistry
Volume100
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2025
Externally publishedYes

Funding

The authors acknowledge the Guangzhou (China) government and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Ne72140008) for providing financial support to conduct this work. The authors also thank the support from the Consensus project, which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under grant agreement No. 101022484.

FundersFunder number
National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNe72140008
European Union's Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework Programme101022484

    Keywords

    • CO capture
    • Carbon neutrality
    • Climate change
    • Graphene aerogel
    • Plasma treatment

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