Hierarchically porous aminosilica monolith as a CO2 adsorbent.

A facile strategy is successfully developed for the centimeter-scale preparation of hierarchically porous aminosilica monolith as a CO2 adsorbent just by simple processes of solvent-evaporation-induced coating, self-assembly, and concentration of tetraethyl orthosilicate sol on the surface of a polymer foam template without any adhesive composite material or hydrothermal treatment. (3-Aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane is immobilized on the surface of silica monolith via a gas-phase procedure. The silica frameworks of the monolith mimic those of the polymer foam template at the macroscale, and the frameworks are composed of the SBA-15 structure at the nanoscale. The hierarchically porous structure demonstrates improved properties over the single-mode porous component, with the macroporous framework ensuring mechanical stability and good mass transport properties, while the smaller pores provide the functionality for CO2 adsorption.