Carbon dioxide capture and conversion by an acid-base resistant metal-organic framework

Considering the rapid increase of CO2 emission, especially from power plants, there is a constant need for materials which can effectively eliminate post-combustion CO2 (the main component: CO2/N2 = 15/85). Here, we show the design and synthesis of a Cu(II) metal-organic framework (FJI-H14) with a high density of active sites, which displays unusual acid and base stability and high volumetric uptake (171 cm3 cm−3) of CO2 under ambient conditions (298 K, 1 atm), making it a potential adsorbing agent for post-combustion CO2. Moreover, CO2 from simulated post-combustion flue gas can be smoothly converted into corresponding cyclic carbonates by the FJI-H14 catalyst. Such high CO2 adsorption capacity and moderate catalytic activity may result from the synergistic effect of multiple active sites.