Alkali metal cation doped Al-SBA-15 for carbon dioxide adsorption

Abstract

Mesoporous aluminosilicate adsorbents for carbon dioxide were prepared by the grafting of aluminium into SBA-15 silica using an aqueous solution of aluminium chlorohydrate. As the ion exchange sites are primarily associated with the presence of tetrahedrally coordinated aluminium, extra-framework aluminium on the SBA-15 surface was inserted into the silica matrix by a treatment with an aqueous solution of NH₄OH. Synthesized mesoporous aluminosilicate preserving all the characteristic features of a mesoporous molecular sieve was finally modified by the alkali metal cation exchange. To examine carbon dioxide adsorption on prepared materials, adsorption isotherms in the temperature range from 0 °C to 60 °C were measured. Based on the known temperature dependence of adsorption isotherms, isosteric adsorption heats giving information on the surface energetics of CO₂ adsorption were calculated and discussed. The comparison of carbon dioxide isotherms obtained on aluminosilicate SBA-15, aluminosilicate SBA-15 containing cations Na⁺ and K⁺ and activated alumina F-200 reveals that the doping with sodium or potassium cations dramatically enhances adsorption in the region of equilibrium pressures lower than 10 kPa. Therefore, synthesized aluminosilicate adsorbents doped with Na⁺ or K⁺ cations are suitable for carbon dioxide separation from dilute gas mixtures.