A scalable metal-organic framework as a durable physisorbent for carbon dioxide capture

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as solid sorbents for carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture face the challenge of merging efficient capture with economical regeneration in a durable, scalable material. Zinc-based Calgary Framework 20 (CALF-20) physisorbs CO₂ with high capacity but is also selective over water. Competitive separations on structured CALF-20 show not just preferential CO₂ physisorption below 40% relative humidity but also suppression of water sorption by CO₂, which was corroborated by computational modeling. CALF-20 has a low enthalpic regeneration penalty and shows durability to steam (>450,000 cycles) and wet acid gases. It can be prepared in one step, formed as composite materials, and its synthesis can be scaled to multikilogram batches.