Cost-Efficient Strategy for Sustainable Cross-Linked Microporous Carbon Bead with Satisfactory CO2 Capture Capacity

Cross-linked microporous carbon beads (MCBs) were successfully synthesized via a green, convenient, and cost-efficient strategy derived from a renewable sugar source. Such an approach avoids the time-consuming procedure and the use of corrosive chemical activating agents and toxic solvents and only involves a simple carbonization process, which makes it to be applicable for rapid and large-scale industrial production of MCB materials. The obtained MCBs possessed well-defined microporous structure, narrow pore size, and high surface area. Particularly, the microporosity of the resultant MCBs could be easily tailored to arise primary pores of size 0.5-0.9 nm by adjusting the carbonization temperature and reaction time, which remarkably favor the CO2 capture. The optimal sample of MCBs-9-5 carbonized at 900 degrees C for 5 h was characterized by high microporosity (80% of the surface area from micropores), especially ultrahigh narrow microporosity (53% of pore volume from micropores of size <1 nm), which endowed it a great satisfactory CO2 uptake of 4.25 mmol g(-1) at 25 degrees C and 1 bar. Significantly, a prominent CO2/N-2 selectivity and superior recyclability of MCBs-9-5 were also achieved. Combined with the simple fabrication, the satisfactory adsorption capacity, and high selectivity, MCBs-9-5 should be a promising adsorbent for CO2 capture and separation.