New crosslinked-porous poly-ammonium microparticles as CO2 adsorbents

A new porous polymeric microparticle, poly[4-vinylbenzyltriethylammonium chloride] (P[VBTEA][Cl]), is prepared from the crosslinking polymerization of 4-vinylbenzyltriethylammonium chloride with N,N-methylenebisacrylamide via inverse suspension polymerization using cyclohexane as continuous phase, Span 80-Tween 80 as dispersant, and PEG600 as porogen. Two other microparticles, P[VBTEA][BF4] and P[VBTEA][PF6] are further obtained through ion-exchange. FT-IR, TGA, SEM, and EDS analyzes indicate that these microparticles have good porosity (apparent porosities are 55.0%, 69.7% and 64.3%, respectively), high thermal stability, and large specific surface area, which make them potentially applicable as adsorbent agents. Their CO2 adsorption-desorption performance is investigated. It is observed that such porous polymeric microparticles present high CO2 sorption capability; typically, the CO2 sorption of P[VBTEA][PF6] is 1.38 wt% at 25 °C and 1 bar. Such porous polymeric microparticles are good candidates for CO2 adsorption.