Reversible fixation and release of carbon dioxide with a binary system consisting of polyethylene glycol and polystyrene-bearing cyclic amidine pendant group

In this study, we investigated the CO2-capture/release behavior of the polystyrene-bearing cyclic amidine pendant groups, which was synthesized via free radical polymerization of HCl salt of the corresponding styrene monomer followed by neutralization. For comparison, we also prepared the polystyrene bearing N-formyl-1,3-propanediamine pendant groups through the hydrolysis of the cyclic amidine group by treatment with an alkaline solution. First, we examined the CO2-capture/release behaviors of the amidine and amine monomers in aqueous solution in terms of conductivity. The conductivity of a wet DMSO solution of the amidine monomer increased upon CO2 bubbling at 25 degrees C and reached a stationary value of about 11 mS/m, which indicated the formation of the bicarbonate salt. Conversely, the conductivity decreased to its original value upon N2 bubbling at 50 degrees C, reflecting the complete release of the trapped CO2 molecules. Both solutions showed the changes in the conductivity with quick responses, and no appreciable difference was observed between them. We then investigated the CO2-capture/release behaviors of the amidine and amine polymers, by taking advantage of the binary system with polyethylene glycol, and found that the binary system with the amidine polymer captured and released CO2 more efficiently than that with the amine polymer. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.