Highly selective CO2 capture by S-doped microporous carbon materials

S-doped microporous carbon materials were synthesized by the chemical activation of a reduced-graphene-oxide/poly-thiophene material. The material displayed a large CO2 adsorption capacity of 4.5 mmol g−1 at 298 K and 1 atm, as well as an impressive CO2 adsorption selectivity over N2, CH4 and H2. The material was shown to exhibit a stable recycling adsorption capacity of 4.0 mmol g−1. The synthesized material showed a maximum specific surface area of 1567 m2 g−1 and an optimal CO2 adsorption pore size of 0.6 nm. The microporosity, surface area and oxidized S content of the material were found to be the determining factors for CO2 adsorption. These properties show that the as synthesized S-doped microporous carbon material can be more effective than similarly prepared N-doped microporous carbons in CO2 capture.