Koç University researchers have drastically improved the adsorption of CO2 in a common zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) that will make it much more useful for carbon capture and natural gas purification. (ZIFs are a subset of MOFs, metal-organic frameworks.)
The research team focused on the hydrophobic ZIF-8. When they treated it with a hydrophilic imidazolium-based ionic liquid (solvent) in which CO2 is highly soluble, a chemically selective shell formed on the ZIF’s exterior. The new material’s adsorption of CO2 is nearly six times as high as in untreated ZIF-8.