Design of ZIF-8/ion copolymer hierarchically porous material: Coordination effect on the adsorption and diffusion for carbon dioxide

The novel hierarchically porous CO2 adsorbent (ZPMAC) was constructed by a facile in-situ growth of ZIF-8 onto the surface of a mesoporous amino-functionalized ion copolymer (PMAC). It was observed that ZIF-8 loaded on the surface of PMAC uniformly and tightly. The pore structure was adjusted by the existence of coordination effect between Zn2+ from ZIF-8 and nitrogen atom from the amino-alkyl chain in PMAC in order to enhance the amount of CO2 capture and accelerate the rate of CO2 adsorption. Obviously, the surface areas of ZPMAC increased and smaller peak value of micropore distribution was generated by the strong coordination interaction between ZIF-8 and PMAC. Meanwhile, the appearance of hierarchically porous structure was conducive to the transportation and adsorption of CO2 molecules. The CO2 molecules was fast transported in the mesoporous channels and adsorbed in micropore structure, thus enhancing the amount of CO2 capture and the rate of adsorption effectively.366