Enhanced carbon dioxide capture upon incorporation of N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine in the metal–organic framework CuBTTri

High capacity, high selectivity, and low-cost regeneration conditions are the most important criteria by which new adsorbents for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture will be judged. The incorporation of N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine (mmen) into H3[(Cu4Cl)3(BTTri)8 (CuBTTri; H3BTTri = 1,3,5-tri(1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)benzene), a water-stable, triazolate-bridged framework, is shown to drastically enhance CO2 adsorption, resulting in one of the best performing metal–organic frameworks for CO2 separation reported to date. High porosity was maintained despite stoichiometric attachment of mmen to the open metal sites of the framework, resulting in a BET surface area of 870 m2 g−1. At 25 °C under a 0.15 bar CO2/0.75 bar N2 mixture, mmen-CuBTTri adsorbs 2.38 mmol CO2 g−1 (9.5 wt%) with a selectivity of 327, as determined using Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory (IAST). The high capacity and selectivity are consequences of the exceptionally large isosteric heat of CO2 adsorption, calculated to be −96 kJ mol−1 at zero coverage. Infrared spectra support chemisorption between amines and CO2 as one of the primary mechanisms of uptake. Despite the large initial heat of adsorption, the CO2 uptake was fully reversible and the framework could be easily regenerated at 60 °C, enabling a cycling time of just 27 min with no loss of capacity over the course of 72 adsorption/desorption cycles.