Potential carbon capture role for new material

A novel porous material with carbon dioxide adsorption properties has been developed through research led by The University of Nottingham.The findings form part of ongoing efforts to develop new materials for gas storage applications and could have an impact in the advancement of new carbon capture products for reducing emissions from fossil fuel processes.

Developments are focused on the metal organic framework NOTT-202a, which has a unique honeycomb-like structural arrangement and can be considered to represent an entirely new class of porous material. Its structure most importantly allows selective adsorption of carbon dioxide — while other gases such as nitrogen, methane and hydrogen can pass back through, the carbon dioxide remains trapped in the materials nanopores, even at low temperatures.

Lead researcher Professor Martin Schröder, in the University’s School of Chemistry, said: “The unique defect structure that this new material shows can be correlated directly to its gas adsorption properties. Detailed analyses via structure determination and computational modelling have been critical in determining and rationalising the structure and function of this material.”

The study has been funded by the ERC Advanced Grant COORDSPACE and by an EPSRC Programme Grant ChemEnSus.