Nitrogen-doped hierarchically constructed interconnected porous carbon nanofibers derived from polyaniline (PANI) for highly selective CO2 capture and effective methanol adsorption

Abstract

A facile one-step, oxidative template assembly method is doped to synthesize PANI nanofibers precursor. Followed by carbonization and activation led to the formation of N-doped hierarchically constructed interconnected porous carbon nanofibers as adsorbent. The CO2 capture and methanol adsorption performance were evaluated on these carbon adsorbents. A high CO2 adsorption capacity of 4.01 mmol g−1 was achieved at 25 °C under 1 bar; meanwhile, a good selectivity of binary gas mixture CO2/N2 was up to 25.60. Moreover, a high methanol adsorption capacity of 17.5 mmol g−1 was achieved at 25 °C and 95 mbar. The gas adsorption mechanism had prudently been discussed. The outstanding adsorption and separation performance coupled with excellent recyclability and efficient dynamic breakthrough behavior made these porous carbon nanofibers potent adsorbents for industrial applications. This work provides a strategy to design high performance adsorbents.