A Process for Carbon Dioxide Capture Using Schiff Bases Containing a Trimethoprim Unit

Anaheed A Yaseen,Gamal A El-Hiti,Emaad T B Al-Tikrity,Mohammed A Baashen,Emad Yousif,Mohammed H Al-Mashhadani,Dina S Ahmed

doi:10.3390/pr9040707

Abstract

Environmental problems associated with the growing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels to satisfy the high demand for energy are a pressing concern. Therefore, the design of new materials for carbon dioxide storage has received increasing research attention. In this work, we report the synthesis of three new Schiff bases containing a trimethoprim unit and the investigation of their application as adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture. The reaction of trimethoprim and aromatic aldehydes in acid medium gave the corresponding Schiff bases in 83%–87% yields. The Schiff bases exhibited surface areas ranging from 4.15 to 20.33 m2/g, pore volumes of 0.0036–0.0086 cm3/g, and average pore diameters of 6.64–1.4 nm. An excellent carbon dioxide uptake (27–46 wt%) was achieved at high temperature and pressure (313 K and 40 bar, respectively) using the Schiff bases. The 3-hydroxyphenyl-substituted Schiff base, which exhibited a meta-arrangement, provided the highest carbon dioxide uptake (46 wt%) due to its higher surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter compared with the other two derivatives with a para-arrangement.

Highlights

The consumption of fuel has increased significantly over the years because of the continuous growth of energy-demanding human activities
The burning of fuels leads to high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) in the atmosphere [1], with the contribution of fossil fuels to the emission of CO2 representing approximately 60% [2]
An efficient and simple process is developed for the synthesis of three new Schiff bases containing a trimethoprim moiety

Summary

Introduction

The consumption of fuel has increased significantly over the years because of the continuous growth of energy-demanding human activities. Global warming and climate change are associated with high levels of CO2 emission [3,4]. These environmental changes have led to an increase in the level of seas and oceans, which can cause flooding, acidic rains, and the collapse of the global economy [5,6]. To overcome the environmental problems associated with global warming, research has been devoted to the development of strategies for reducing the level of CO2 , such as the design of new materials for efficient CO2 uptake [7,8,9,10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion