(190k) Task-Specific Liquid-Like Nanoparticle Ionic Materials (NIMs) for CO2 Capture

Liquid-like nanoparticle ionic materials (NIMs) that exist in the absence of any solvent are advantageous over conventional colloidal suspensions due to their negligible vapor pressure and tunable nature. The bound corona and its ionic components are held by the nanoparticles via covalent bonds and this configuration renders NIMs differed in thermodynamic and dispersion properties from the conventional colloidal systems. It is particularly hypothesized that ionic bonds located in corona chains contribute electrostatic repulsion among corona chains and increase the free volume within the system. Therefore, CO2 capture by NIMs can be maximized by controlling both enthalpic and entropic effects. A series of experiments are designed and conducted to verify this theory. First generation of NIMs have successfully demonstrated the concept of CO2 capture by NIMs; however the location of ionic bonds comprising of a cation functionalized silanol and a sulfonate anion was near the surface of the core particle. In order to amplify the electrostatic repulsion between corona chains, in this study the location of these ionic bonds is changed along the length of the canopy. By adding additional amine functional groups to the corona, the capacity of CO2 chemisorption by NIMs can be determined. The effects of temperature, CO2 partial pressure and humidity on the CO2 capture capacity, selectivity and recyclability of task-specific NIMs are investigated.