Hierarchically Structured Graphene Coupled Microporous Organic Polymers for Superior CO2 Capture.

Hierarchically porous materials containing interconnected macro-/meso-/micropores are promising candidates for energy storage, catalysis, and gas separation. Here, we present an effective approach for synthesizing three-dimensional (3D) sulfonated graphene coupled microporous organic polymers (SG-MOPs). The resulting SG-MOPs possess uniform macropores with an average size of ca. 350 nm, abundant mesopores, and micropores with an average size of ca. 0.6 nm. The SG-supported adsorbents exhibit a high nitrogen content (more than 38.1 wt %), high adsorption capacity (up to 3.37 mmol CO2 g-1), high CO2/N2 selectivity from 42 to 51, moderate heat of adsorption, as well as good stability because of the hierarchical porous structure and excellent thermal conductivity of the SG scaffold. Thus, these nitrogen-enriched adsorbents allow the overall CO2 capture process to be promising and sustainable.