Combined Carbon Capture and Conversion using Multifunctional Porous Materials

工业来源二氧化碳排放量的迅速增加被认为是气候变化的主要原因之一。减少二氧化碳排放可以通过提高能源效率、实施可再生无碳能源以及开发碳捕获、利用和封存(CCUS)技术来实现。全球能源使用量将继续增加；因此，CCUS可以立即为全球碳失衡提供解决方案。到目前为止，CCUS技术一直是相互独立开发的，这导致了复杂和经济困难的大规模设计。例如，类似这样的问题：“我们如何将二氧化碳捕获和二氧化碳转化技术联系起来？”或者“将捕获的二氧化碳提供给二氧化碳转化装置的最佳形式是什么？”通常留到以后再考虑。因此，促进将捕获的二氧化碳直接用作化学原料的CCUS平台将是该领域的重大进步，并导致更可持续的行动。在这项工作中，多功能材料因其结构、机械和化学用途的多样性而发挥关键作用。考虑到这一点，目前的项目旨在开发先进的多孔材料，这种材料既可以用来捕获二氧化碳，又可以利用阳光将其转化为有用的化学品。在转化二氧化碳时，材料同时被再生，从而增强了整个过程的可持续性。

The rapid increase in CO2 emissions from industrial sources has been considered as one of the main causes of climate change. The reduction of CO2 emissions can be achieved by improving energy efficiency, implementing renewable carbon-free energy sources, and developing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies. Worldwide energy use will continue increasing; thus, CCUS could provide an immediate solution to the global carbon imbalance. Until now, the CCUS technologies have been developed independently of one another, which has resulted in complex and economically challenged large-scale designs. For instance, questions like: "How do we link CO2 capture and CO2 conversion technologies?" or "What is the optimal form in which captured CO2 be provided to the CO2 conversion unit?" are often left for later considerations. A CCUS platform that facilitates the direct use of captured CO2 as a chemical feedstock would thus represent a significant advancement in the field, and lead to more sustainable operations. In this endeavour, multifunctional materials have a key role to play owing to their structural, mechanical and chemical versatility.With this in mind, the current project aims at developing advanced porous materials that can be used to both capture CO2 and subsequently convert it to useful chemicals using sunlight. When converting CO2, the materials are simultaneously regenerated, thereby enhancing the sustainability of the overall process.