Rationally “clicked” post-modification of a highly stable metal–organic framework and its high improvement on CO2-selective capture

Based on the imperativeness of CO2 capture and sequestration to reduce increasing anthropogenic CO2 emissions, an efficient CO2-selective sorbent, MIL-101-triazo-NH2, was developed by grafting CO2-philic triazole and amine groups into a highly stable mesoporous metal–organic framework, MIL-101, via click chemistry. Compared to pristine MIL-101, MIL-101-triazo-NH2 exhibits a remarkably improved CO2 uptake capability up to 128.3 cm3 g−1 (20.1 wt%) at 1 atm and 273 K, and a significantly enhanced selectivity towards CO2 over N2. The improved performance of MIL-101-triazo-NH2 on both the CO2 uptake capability and selectivity demonstrates that the construction of analogues of solution-based absorbents through "clicked" post-modification of porous materials could be a reliable strategy for the fabrication of CO2-selective solid adsorbents with optimized separation efficiency and easy regeneration ability.