Primary, secondary, and tertiary amines for CO2 capture: Designing for mesoporous CO2 adsorbents

► Amino-functionalized (1o, 2o, and 3o amines) monolayers on SBA-15 surfaces for CO2 capture. ► Adsorption capacity, adsorption-desorption kinetics, and thermodynamics of CO2 adsorption on adsorbents. ► The maximum CO2 adsorption capacity and the bonding-affinity were in the order of primary (1o), secondary (2o), and tertiary (3o) amino-adsorbents. ► This work demonstrates apt amine types to catch CO2 and regenerate the adsorbent.