Facile access to template-shape-replicated nitrogen-rich mesoporous carbon nanospheres for highly efficient CO2 capture and contaminant removal

Abstract

Rising atmospheric CO₂ levels and water pollution have necessitated new research towards the development of novel CO₂ capture materials and innovative methods for wastewater treatment. Herein, we demonstrate a facile fabrication strategy to prepare novel template-shape-replicated nitrogen-rich mesoporous carbon nanospheres (NMCN) with high surface area, pore volume and ordered pore geometry via a combination of in situ co-condensation, surface-confined atom transfer radical polymerization (SC-ATRP) and post-polymerization modification. NMCN exhibited efficient CO₂ capture performance and contaminant removal capability from wastewater. This work may open a new direction for the design of novel porous nanomaterials for CO₂ capture and other emerging applications.