Development of Borate-Based Basic Ionic Liquid for Room Temperature CO 2 Capture

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide As part of CO 2 capture strategies, ionic liquid-based CO 2 absorbents have gained attention for their tunable properties to lower the energy costs for CO 2 capture. In this study, a series of borate-based nonamine functionalized ionic liquids (ILs), incorporated with magnesium acetylacetonate, were developed and investigated for its CO 2 capture capability at moderate temperature under ambient pressure. Nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful incorporation of acetylacetonate ligands into the fluorinated-lithium borate ionic liquids. Comprehensive analyses of the physical and thermochemical properties revealed that the synthesized ILs remain stable below 200 °C, with the borate structure and acetylacetonate ligands intact. The ILs functionalized with fluorinated alcohol and magnesium acetylacetonate enhance the CO 2 uptake capacity by 55% in comparison with the original lithium borate ILs, suggesting the enhanced cooperative interactions responsible for improved CO 2 capture performance. The carbon capture mechanism was identified to proceed via physical absorption, as evidenced by minimal changes in the characterization results and viscosity after CO 2 absorption. The enthalpy of CO 2 absorption (Δ H a ) for the synthesized ILs were determined experimentally by using differential scanning calorimetry to be in the range from −12.4 kJ mol –1 to −18.9 kJ mol –1, which are much lower than that of conventional amine solutions (e.g., MEA: −82 kJ mol –1 ) and amine-based ILs ((e.g., [Bmim][Ac]: −45.8 kJ mol –1 ). These findings suggest that lithium borate-acetylacetonate ILs offer a promising approach for a CO 2 capture system under ambient conditions.