2D Transition Metal Carbides (MXenes) for Carbon Capture.

Persson, Ingemar; Halim, Joseph; Lind, Hans; Hansen, Thomas W; Wagner, Jakob B; Näslund, Lars-Åke; Darakchieva, Vanya; Palisaitis, Justinas et al. · Adv Mater · 2019

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Global warming caused by burning of fossil fuels is indisputably one of mankind's greatest challenges in the 21st century. To reduce the ever-increasing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions released into the atmosphere, dry solid adsorbents with large surface-to-volume ratio such as carbonaceous materials, zeolites, and metal-organic frameworks have emerged as promising material candidates for capturing CO<sub>2</sub> . However, challenges remain because of limited CO<sub>2</sub> /N<sub>2</sub> selectivity and long-term stability. The effective adsorption of CO<sub>2</sub> gas (≈12 mol kg<sup>-1</sup> ) on individual sheets of 2D transition metal carbides (referred to as MXenes) is reported here. It is shown that exposure to N<sub>2</sub> gas results in no adsorption, consistent with first-principles calculations. The adsorption efficiency combined with the CO<sub>2</sub> /N<sub>2</sub> selectivity, together with a chemical and thermal stability, identifies the archetype Ti<sub>3</sub> C<sub>2</sub> MXene as a new material for carbon capture (CC) applications.