Sustainable synthesis of Fe-MOR zeolite for efficient capture of CO2

Selective adsorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) is significant for carbon neutrality, where searching for efficient CO2 adsorbents is very important. In addition, coal fly ash (CFA) is one of the largest industrial solid wastes with environmental damages, where conversion of the wastes into costly functional materials is attractive. This work showed sustainable synthesis of Fe-containing mordenite (Fe-MOR) zeolite from the CFA waste under solvent-free conditions, and this zeolite is an efficient capturer for CO2 in the mixture of CO2/N2 (15/85, v/v), giving adsorption capacity of 2.07 mmol/g and separation coefficient of 58.9 at 298 K. Very interestingly, the capture of CO2 in the mixture of CO2/N2 (15/85, v/v) is recyclable. This work not only solved the accumulation and pollution of CFA but also prepared a highly efficient adsorbent of Fe-MOR zeolite, which would open a door for utilizing environmentally unfriendly solid wastes as value-added functional materials in the future.