Detailed investigation of N-doped microporous carbons derived from urea furfural resin for CO2 capture

Abstract

N-doped microporous carbons are considered to be the most potentially useful materials for CO2 adsorption due to their special features. We previously reported a strategy to prepare N-doped microporous carbon from low cost and widely available urea furfural resin. Herein, we performed detailed investigations on textural and CO2 adsorption properties of several N-doped carbons using different urea/furfural ratios and carbonization temperatures. N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms were used to determine their microporosity and the results revealed that both the carbonization temperature and urea/furfural ratio are important to form abundant micropores, which will lead to higher CO2 adsorption capacity. Recyclability and selectivity of the materials were also conducted and these results showed their high stability and recyclability along with high selectivity for CO2 over N2. The presently developed N-doped carbon materials are promising adsorbents for CO2 adsorption.