Facile synthesis of nitrogen-enriched microporous carbons derived from imine and benzimidazole-linked polymeric framework for efficient CO2 adsorption

- In this work, microporous polymer was synthesized via ecomically favorable avenue.
- The resulting polymer, IBLP, was carbonized to design a series of carbon materials.
- The fabricated materials show better textural properties in comparison to the precursor polymer.
- On exploiting the carbon materials as effective CO2 adsorbents, we observed an excellent performance with reversible adsorption-desorption phenomenon.

Microporous organic polymers containing heteroatoms are considered as promising substrates for CO2 capture and separation with a tangible effect on the atmosphere and clean energy applications. In the present work, we have reported a cost-effective strategy for designing a series of carbonized products by high-temperature treatment of an imine and benzimidazole linked polymer (IBLP). The resulting materials exhibit a high surface area with narrow micropores. CO2 adsorption measurements reveal a notable uptake capacity up to 130.4, 98.4, and 87.5 mg/g at 273, 298, and 308 K, respectively, along with the high isosteric heats of adsorption (30.4-32.2 kJ/mol). Presence of micropores and heteroatom in the solid adsorbents with the high thermal stability accompanied with excellent CO2/N2 selectivity proclaimed the nitrogen-enriched carbon as promising candidates for CO2 scrubbing technology.