Electrospun Nanofibrous Sorbents and Membranes for Carbon Dioxide Capture

Abstract

CO2 emission resulting from combustion of fossil fuel is a major anthropogenic factor for global warming. Current commercial CO2 capture approaches using aqueous amine scrubbing require high energy consumption for regeneration which leads to significantly decreased efficiency. Therefore, novel CO2 capture materials and technologies for economical CO2 capture are of the utmost importance. Nanofibers, mainly fabricated by electrospinning, have unique porous structure, high surface area, and good mechanical properties thereby exhibit potential as advanced sorbents for CO2 capture and storage. More significantly, nanofiber-based sorbents are expected to have extremely low resistance for gas transport and extremely fast kinetics due to the unique structure of nanofibers. In this chapter, we summarize recent progress in the development of electrospun nanofibrous sorbents or membranes (e.g., nanofiber-supported metal-organic frameworks, carbon nanofibers, ionic liquid-based nanofibrous membranes, metal oxide nanofibers, etc.) for CO2 capture, describe the types of nanofibrous materials that have been developed, and discuss their fabrication variables and CO2 adsorption performance in detail. This chapter may pave the way for developing advanced nanofibrous sorbents for CO2 capture from power plants and even the atmosphere.