Pore Surface Functionalization of Metal Organic Frameworks for Carbon Dioxide Capture Applications

Metal organic frameworks belong to a class of inorganic-organic crystalline materials where metal constituting units are connected by organic molecules to form 3-D nanoporous structures. Ultra high surface area, high pore volume, tunable chemical and physical properties of those materials have led to investigation of MOFs as promising adsorbents in carbon dioxide capture from coal- burning power plants. While promising, the hydrophilic nature of MOFs causes loss of crystallinity and competitive adsorption of H₂O inhibiting an effective overall CO₂ capture. In this work, the pore space of Mg/DOBDC MOF has been modified with amine functionalities to preserve material structure under humid environment, which is characteristic to the practical conditions such as flue gas (5-7% of H₂O by volume). Such modification showed structural preservation of the material characterized by XRD and surface area analyser and further a fully regenerable CO₂ capacity upon material exposure to high temperature steam.