Efficient CO<sub>2</sub>/CO Separation by Pressure Swing Adsorption Using an Intrinsically Nanoporous Molecular Crystal
Yaoting Wang, Said Jalife, Alexandra Robles, Miloš Đerić, Judy I. Wu, Watchareeya Kaveevivitchai, Ognjen Š. Miljanić, Teng‐Hao Chen
Abstract
The physisorption-based separation of CO2 from CO is an energy-efficient yet challenging approach to obtain pure CO. We have applied an intrinsically porous molecular crystal (PMC), assembled from the readily synthesized macrocyclic cyclotetrabenzoin acetate to the problem of CO2/CO separation. This nanoporous material possesses both kinetic (micropore) and thermodynamic (CO2–π and CO2–carbonyl interactions) factors needed for selective CO2 capture. The moderate CO2–adsorbent interaction allows easy regeneration needed for pressure swing adsorption (PSA). Both trace (1%) and bulk (50%) amounts of CO2 can be removed from CO2/CO gas mixtures in PSA processes.