CO2 Capture & Storage
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that has been directly linked to the global warming problem. Nowadays, many governments and organizations are taking measures and implement new policies in order to limit the extent of CO2 release to the atmosphere.
It is well known that some porous materials can be used, in principle, to capture and store CO2. Nevertheless, the efficient and economically viable capture and storage of CO2 remains an unsolved problem.
Our research is focusing on studying existing nano–porous materials for CO2 capture and storage, as well as on designing novel materials with enhanced performance.
The CO2 storage capacity of many families of porous materials has been tested via computer simulations. We showed that a new class of materials, the Zeolithic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIFs), is capable of adsorbing large amounts of gas.
High–accuracy quantum chemistry methods were used to understand the nature of the interactions of CO2 with porous adsorbents. The reasons for the enhanced CO2 storage capacity of ZIFs were identified. Based on this progress, further research is underway, focusing on the design of novel nanomaterials for CO2 storage.
