Single polymer sorbent fibers for high performance and rapid direct air capture

Abstract

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) fibers featuring amidoxime and amine functionalities were formulated into high-performance CO₂ adsorbents. Fiber sorbents were composed of a single porous polymer component functionalized with molecular amines to increase the CO₂ capture uptake and kinetics. We report the highest CO₂ uptake capacity (3.3 wt% (0.8 mmol g⁻¹) CO₂ at 400 ppm) among all PIM-based and single polymeric sorbents to date. Moreover, the sorbents exhibited rapid CO₂ adsorption rates (capturing 90% of its total capacity within 7 min.) and cost efficient and reproducible regeneration (at 70 °C) which are essential for reducing the cost of direct air capture.