Synthesis and characterization of amino-modified zinc and nickel ZIF-8 structures for CO2 capture

• Grant number: 24/18728-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Technology
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Gustavo Possato
• Grantee: Gabriel Alves da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/05246-4 - In situ and operando studies of heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion, AP.JP

Abstract

ZIFs, Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks, are subclasses of structures that arise from MOFs, Metal-Organic Frameworks, and have attracted extensive studies in the area of catalysis, gas adsorption, gas separation, etc. They are porous crystalline materials with tetrahedral networks that resemble those of zeolites with transition metals (Zn, Ni, Co, etc.) linked by imidazolate ligands and present high thermal stability compared to other MOF structures (up to 400°C). Currently, ZIFs are the best porous materials for selective CO2 capture; in addition, they show exceptionally high capacity for CO2 among adsorbents that operate by physisorption. Recent studies have focused on the synthesis of amino-functional ZIF-8 materials, since the extension of the ZIF-8 structure with amino sites presents a promising approach, attributed to its remarkable ability of amine functional groups to interact chemically with CO2 molecules. Among the amino compounds, HDA (Hexadecylamine) stands out, which when added to ZIF-8, has an improvement in CO2 adsorption of 46.6% compared to pure ZIF-8, does not clog the pores of the structure and contains a positive zeta potential that further increases the interaction with CO2. Thus, this project has as main objectives the synthesis of amino-modified ZIF-8 structures, known for their high thermal and CO2 adsorption stability, using XRD, scanning and transmission microscopy, infrared spectroscopy to characterize the amino-modified ZIF-8; and CO2 adsorption by the amino-modified ZIF-8.