Abstract
• N/ N, S-doped microporous carbons derived from inexhaustible precursor ‘cellulose’. • Cell-UK exhibit microporous texture with high pyrrolic nitrogen (58%). • Excellent CO 2 adsorption (297 mg/g) was achieved at 273 K. • IAST determines a CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of up to 113 at 273 K. The present work demonstrates a facile synthesis of cellulose-based novel microporous carbons (Cell-X) for environmental remediation by virtue of their application as CO 2 adsorbents. The presence of heteroatoms (N, S) in highly porous carbon frameworks (1032 m 2 /g) endowed Cell- X with efficient CO 2 adsorption and separation characteristics. The optimized sample, Cell-UK, exhibit significantly large micropore volume (0.7135 cm 3 /g), abundance of narrow micropores (<0.94 nm) and optimum pyrrolic nitrogen content (58%) which leads to efficient CO 2 adsorption (297.1 mg/g at 273 K and 193.7 mg/g at 298 K/1 bar) and moderately high heat of adsorption (36.70 kJ/mol). Additionally, ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) determines a CO 2 /N 2 selectivity ~ 110 at 298 K, surpassing the gas separation performance of most reported microporous carbons. Herein, the remarkable CO 2 adsorption and separation performance of prepared materials is attributed to the synergistic role of narrow micropores (<0.94 nm) and surface heterogeneity (N/N, S-doped surfaces). These heteroatoms enriched basic sites induced stronger affinity for acidic CO 2 molecules by generating Lewis acid-base interactions between gas molecules and adsorbent surfaces. Conclusively, present work demonstrates an effort devoted to the rational designing of tunable porous cellulose-based CO 2 adsorbents as promising contenders to mitigate global warming.
Published Version
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