Efficient 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane functionalised mesoporous ceria nanoparticles for CO2 capture

Abstract

This work described the effect of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) functionalization on the mesoporous ceria nanoparticles (MCNs) toward CO2 capture. The MCN and APTMS-loaded MCN (APTMS-MCN) were prepared by the sol-gel and impregnation method, respectively. The functionalization of APTMS on the MCN enhanced the CO2 binding sites which were observed through the formation of carbamate species from the interaction of CO2 with the NH group. This resulted to the increase of CO2 adsorption capacity of APTMS-MCN with 10-fold higher than that of pristine MCNs. For MCNs, CO2 may be adsorbed onto oxygen basic, oxygen vacant, and hydroxyl sites which further formed polydentate, monodentate, bidentate, and hydrogen carbonate species. In addition to these carbonate species, the adsorption of CO2 on APTMS-MCN has largely occurred through the formation of carbamate species which further enhanced its CO2 uptake.