Practical and inexpensive acid-activated montmorillonite catalysts for energy-efficient CO2 capture

Abstract

Here, we report acid-activated montmorillonite as a cheap, durable, abundant, and efficient heterogeneous catalyst to optimize the CO₂ desorption rate at low temperatures (≤86 °C), eventually to significantly minimize the energy penalty of amine solutions employed for CO₂ capture. The prepared catalysts do not degrade and can be easily separated by simple filtration. Detailed characterization reveals an increase in the BET surface area, mesoporosity, and surface acidity induced by the acid-activation process. These are the key catalytic properties responsible for the superior catalytic performance.