New insights into carbon dioxide interactions with benzimidazole-linked polymers.

A synergistic experimental and theoretical study (DFT) highlights the impact of material design at the molecular and electronic levels on the binding affinity and interaction sites of CO2 with benzimidazole-linked polymers (BILPs); CO2 is stabilized by benzimidazole units through Lewis acid-base (N···CO2) and aryl C-H···O=C=O interactions.