Researchers developed a PCP to capture CO2

Capturing carbon dioxide is viewed as one way to fight global
warming, but the current methods to do that require a lot of
energy, making it hard to capture the greenhouse gases
efficiently. 

A group of scientists from Kyoto University, the Univerity of
Tokyo and Jiangsu Normal University in China developed a new
material that can capture CO2^[1]
molecules and convert them into organic materials without requiring
a lot of energy. Their work was published in the journal Nature Communications^[2]. 

RELATED: CAPTURING CO2 TO MITIGATE
THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ^[3]

Researchers developed a PCP to capture
CO2

“We have successfully designed a porous material which has
a high affinity towards CO₂ molecules
and can quickly and effectively convert it into useful organic
materials,” said Ken-ichi Otake, Kyoto University materials chemist
from the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) in
a press release^[4]
highlighting the results of their work. 

The material developed by the researchers is a porous
coordination polymer that consists of zinc metal icons. Using an
X-ray structural analysis, the researchers tested the material and
found it selectively captures CO2 molecules with an efficiency that
is ten times better than other porous coordination polymers or
PCPs.

As the CO2 molecules approach the material, which has a
propeller-like molecular structure, they rearrange and rotate to
trap the CO2 and change the molecular channels in the PCP. That
enables it to recognize molecules by their size and their
shape. 

The CO2 capturing material can be reused

The PCP can also be reused. The scientists found the efficiency
didn’t decrease after ten reaction cycles. Once the carbon is
captured the material it is converted^[5] and can be used to
make polyurethane, which has a ton of applications including in
clothing, appliances, and packaging. 

“One of the greenest approaches to carbon capture is to
recycle the carbon dioxide into high-value chemicals, such as
cyclic carbonates which can be used in petrochemicals and
pharmaceuticals,” says Susumu Kitagawa, materials chemist at Kyoto
University. The scientists said the work
highlights the potential PCPs have in traping CO2 and changing it
into materials that are useful. They called for future research to
be done in the area.