Engineering a photothermal responsive cellulose carbon capture material for solar-driven CO2 desorption

The utilization of the solar-driven CO2 desorption of carbon capture materials opens a promising avenue to reduce energy consumption in the carbon capture process. A crucial aspect is the careful coordination of materials' adsorption capacity and regeneration temperature. In this study, a photothermal responsive carbon capture material was developed by incorporating a photothermal responsive cellulose nanofiber matrix skeleton with a temperature-sensitive Pluronic® F-127 and polyethyleneimine. These components formed a staggered network through crosslinking with epichlorohydrin. The devised preparation strategy demonstrated a remarkable conversion rate of 99 % for the reaction reagents. The resulting carbon capture material exhibited a high amino density of 14.18 mmol/g and a substantial adsorption capacity of 6.92 mmol/g. Notably, the shrinkage of Pluronic® F-127 molecular chains at elevated temperatures led to an increased surface electrostatic potential and the passivation of amino groups. This transformation endowed the material with a solar-driven regeneration temperature as low as 55 °C, representing an efficient approach to reduce energy consumption during the regeneration process of carbon capture materials.