Spontaneous Cooling Absorption of CO2 by a Polymeric Ionic Liquid for Direct Air Capture

Tao Wang; Chenglong Hou; Kun Ge; Klaus S Lackner; Xiaoyang Shi; Jun Liu; Mengxiang Fang; Zhongyang Luo

doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b01726

Spontaneous Cooling Absorption of CO₂ by a Polymeric Ionic Liquid for Direct Air Capture

J Phys Chem Lett. 2017 Sep 7;8(17):3986-3990. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b01726. Epub 2017 Aug 14.

Authors

Tao Wang¹, Chenglong Hou¹, Kun Ge¹, Klaus S Lackner², Xiaoyang Shi², Jun Liu¹, Mengxiang Fang¹, Zhongyang Luo¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
² School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University , Tempe, Arizona 85287-9309, United States.

PMID: 28797165
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b01726

Abstract

A polymeric ionic liquid (PIL), with quaternary ammonium ions attached to the polymer matrix, displays CO₂ affinity controlled by moisture. This finding led to the development of moisture swing absorption (MSA) for direct air capture of CO₂. This work aims to elucidate the role of water in MSA. For some humidity range, CO₂ absorption is an endothermic process associated with concurrent dehydration of the sorbent. The thermodynamic behavior of water indicates a decreased hydrophilicity of the PIL as the mobile anion transforms from CO₃^2- to HCO₃^- during CO₂ absorption. The decrease in hydrophilicity drives water out of the PIL, carrying heat away. The mechanism is elucidated by molecular modeling based on density functional theory. The finding of spontaneous cooling during absorption and its mechanism in the PIL opens new possibilities for designing an air capture sorbent with a strong CO₂ affinity but low absorption heat.