Structural Analysis of Carbon Capture in Hydrophobic Metal-Organic Frameworks via In situ Column Breakthrough

To mitigate the aftermaths of increasing atmospheric CO2 level, direct air capture (DAC) technology has been pursued. However, the existence of water vapor in air exhibit as a challenge for conventional CO2 adsorbents. As advanced porous adsorbents, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) excel in gas adsorption due to the chemical affinity and the modifiable pore structure. A subset of MOFs named hydrophobic MOFs has received significant attention for their potential in carbon capture due to the water resistance. However, the structural analysis of the competitive adsorption process in carbon capture through experimental approaches has been rarely reported. It is therefore highly meaningful to perform in situ adsorption breakthrough experiment and collect high-resolution powder diffraction (PXRD) patterns to study the evolution of binding sites of CO2 among other competing components. The anticipated outcome can directly inform future development of DAC sorbents.