Molten salt assisted pyrolysis approach for the synthesis of nitrogen-rich microporous carbon nanosheets and its application as gas capture sorbent

Abstract

Abstract Nitrogen-rich microporous carbon nanosheets, which feature microporous structure and nitrogen atoms in the graphene like carbon nanosheets, have shown promising applications in a variety of application fields. Here, nitrogen-rich microporous carbon (C2N) nanosheets were synthesized by a facile molten salt assisted pyrolysis method. Structural characterization and synthesis processes were investigated to elucidate the critical role of molten salt for the synthesis of C2N nanosheets. It is found that the morphology of the product depends on the concentration of the reaction monomer in molten salt. By controlling the concentration of the reactants in the molten salt, well defined C2N nanosheets with high nitrogen content (23.50 wt%), ultrathin thickness (2.07 nm) and high surface area (355.62 m2/g) can be achieved. The nitrogen-rich microporous C2N nanosheets exhibits superior CO2 sorption capability (1.82 mmol/g at 298 K and 1 bar) and a relatively high CO2 selectivity toward N2, which enable this material to be attractive adsorbent for CO2 sorption.