Research Initiation Award: Mechanisms of CO2 Adsorption in Amine-immobilized Porous Materials

历史黑人学院和大学本科项目(HBCU-UP)研究启动奖(RIA)为HBCU的STEM教员提供支持，让他们在自己的家乡机构、NSF资助的中心、研究密集型机构或国家实验室进行研究。RIA项目预计将有助于进一步提高教师的研究能力和效率，改善他们所在机构的研究和教学，并让本科生参与研究体验。在国家科学基金会的支持下，费耶特维尔州立大学(FSU)将开展研究，旨在解决我们这个时代最紧迫的环境问题之一：大气二氧化碳(CO2)水平不断上升，这是一种主要与化石燃料燃烧相关的主要温室气体。在可预见的未来，不断增长的能源需求很可能需要更多地消费这些不可或缺的能源。因此，开发碳捕获、使用和储存(CCUS)技术具有重要的战略意义。目前，胺水溶液是最先进的碳捕获技术。然而，使用胺水溶液有几个明显的缺点，包括设备腐蚀和高昂的再生成本。如果将胺接枝到多孔固体基质中，而不是与水混合，这些缺点可以得到缓解。该项目旨在开发新型的胺接枝多孔有机聚合物，以实现高效的碳捕获。我们预计我们设计的材料有两大好处：一是无腐蚀性。胺被嫁接到多孔固体基质中，而不直接接触设备。另一个是节能。水具有最高的热容量之一。在变温过程中，加热水溶液比加热多孔固体要耗费更多的能量。这项拟议研究的成功实施将提高我们在碳捕获技术方面的国际竞争力。胺接枝多孔材料要成为经济上可行的碳捕获技术，面临的科学挑战是它们的二氧化碳负载量、可回收性和制造成本。更好地理解CO2在胺接枝多孔材料中的吸附-解吸机理是帮助我们设计和合成此类材料以达到最大的CO2负载量和优化能量效率的关键因素之一。我们提出了几种构建多孔聚合物平台的策略来研究胺和二氧化碳分子之间的结构-性质相关性。首先，我们在多孔平台上建立锚，然后我们使用这些锚来连接不同长度的胺。可以并入的胺的数量在很大程度上取决于安装的锚定的数量；因此，在多孔平台内锚定的高浓度和均匀分布确保了随后的最大胺负载量。这一研究将在分子水平上加深我们对胺接枝多孔材料中CO2吸附-脱附机理的理解。所产生的知识将指导开发具有最佳能效的高二氧化碳负荷的此类材料。这项拟议的研究还将允许PI在为期三年的课程中每年与两到三名本科生研究人员合作。他们都将在实验设计和实施、数据收集和分析、结果展示和发布等方面获得广泛的培训。这些经验将提高他们的能力，并为他们进入研究生院或专业工作人员做好准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Research Initiation Awards (RIAs) provide support to STEM faculty at HBCUs to pursue research at their home institution, at an NSF-funded Center, at a research intensive institution or at a national laboratory. The RIA projects are expected to help further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, to improve research and teaching at their home institution, and to involve undergraduate students in research experiences. With support from the National Science Foundation, Fayetteville State University (FSU), will conduct research aimed at addressing one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our age: the escalating level of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a major greenhouse gas largely correlated to the combustion of fossil fuels. For the foreseeable future, it seems that the ever-growing energy demand will most likely necessitate more consumption of these indispensable sources of energy. Therefore, it is strategically important to develop technologies for Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS). Currently, aqueous amine solution is the most advanced technology for carbon capture. However, the use of aqueous amine solution suffers from several significant drawbacks, including apparatus corrosion and high regeneration cost. These disadvantages can be alleviated if we graft amine into porous solid matrix instead of mixing with water. This project aims at developing novel amine-grafted porous organic polymers for efficient carbon capture. We expect two major benefits for our designed materials: one is noncorrosive. Amines are grafted inside the porous solid matrix without direct contact the apparatus. The other is energy efficient. Water has one of the highest heat capacities. It costs a lot more energy to heat aqueous solution than porous solid in a temperature swing process. The successful implementation of this proposed research will enhance our international competitiveness in carbon capture technology.The scientific challenges for amine-grafted porous materials to become an economically viable technology for carbon capture are their CO2 loading, recyclability, and manufacturing costs. The better understanding of adsorption-desorption mechanisms of CO2 in amine-grafted porous materials is one of the key factors which will help us design and synthesize such materials to reach maximum CO2 loading with optimized energy efficiency. We propose several strategies to build porous polymeric platforms to study the structure-property correlations between amines and CO2 molecules. First, we build anchors in the porous platforms, then we use these anchors to attach amines of different lengths. The number of amines that could be incorporated is largely dependent upon the number of installed anchors; therefore, high concentration and even distribution of anchors inside the porous platforms ensure the maximum amine loading afterwards. The proposed research will advance our understanding of the CO2 adsorption-desorption mechanisms in amine-grafted porous materials at the molecular level. The knowledge generated will guide the development of such materials of high CO2 loading with optimized energy efficiency. The proposed research will also allow the PI to work with two to three undergraduate researchers each year over a three-year course. All of them will obtain extensive training in experimental design and implementation, data collection and analysis, results presentation and publication, etc. Such experiences will boost their competency and prepare them for graduate schools or professional workforces.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.