Electrochemical synthesis, characterization and application of a microstructure Cu3(BTC)2 metal organic framework for CO2 and CH4 separation

Abstract

The electrochemical route is a promising and environmentally friendly technique for fabrication of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) due to mild synthesis condition, short time for crystal growth and ease of scale up. A microstructure Cu3(BTC)2 MOF was synthesized through electrochemical path and successfully employed for CO2 and CH4 adsorption. Characterization and structural investigation of the MOF was carried out by XRD, FE-SEM, TGA, FTIR and BET analyses. The highest amount of carbon dioxide and methane sorption was 26.89 and 6.63 wt%, respectively, at 298 K. The heat of adsorption for CO2 decreased monotonically, while an opposite trend was observed for CH4. The results also revealed that the selectivity of the developed MOF towards CO2 over CH4 enhanced with increase of pressure and composition of carbon dioxide component as predicted by the ideal adsorption solution theory (IAST). The regeneration of as-synthesized MOF was also studied in six consecutive cycles and no considerable reduction in CO2 adsorption capacity was observed.