Improving the Separation of CO2/N2 Using Impregnation of a Deep Eutectic Solvent on a Porous MOF.

As the partial pressure of CO2 in flue gas is 0.1-0.2 bar, CO2 capture at a low pressure needs more attention. Under low pressure conditions, the functional metal-organic framework (MOF) is powerful for CO2 capture. One of the effective methods to increase the absorption capacity of the MOF is impregnation with deep eutectic solvents. In this research, NH2-MIL101(Cr) is impregnated with a deep eutectic solvent of choline chloride:urea (DES ChCl:urea) to enhance the adsorption capacity. The CO2 and N2 adsorption capacity of NH2-MIL101(Cr) and DES/NH2-MIL101(Cr) was investigated at temperatures of 288.15-303.15 K and pressures up to 1 bar. The obtained results indicate that the adsorption capacity of the MOF increases by 1.7 and 3 times with the impregnated DES for CO2 and N2, respectively. Nevertheless, the pore volume of the MOF decreased after impregnation, but the adsorption capacity of the MOF increased due to the interaction of the adsorbate with the confined DES in pores. The contribution of the impregnated DES to adsorption capacity is explained according to Henry's law. Also, high heats of adsorption are attributed to the strong interaction between modified NH2-MIL101(Cr) and CO2. Also, the sample was refined at 298 K and vacuum and was reused without considerable reduction of the CO2 capture capacity after 6 times. Moreover, the impregnation of ChCl:urea into NH2-MIL101(Cr) nanostructures was studied using density functional theory-based approaches.