Engineering MXenes and MBenes for Selective Carbon Dioxide Capture | CPT PPP Coverage

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Some of the thinnest materials known to humanity may hold the key to addressing the challenges of global warming.

Image Credit: Dmitry Demidovich/Shutterstock.com

MXene and MBene compounds, which are incredibly thin and two-dimensional, possess a significant surface area. This property enables them to absorb carbon dioxide molecules from the atmosphere. This characteristic could aid in the mitigation of the harmful effects of climate change by securely storing carbon dioxide.

UC Riverside Professor Mihri Ozkan and her collaborators explain the potential of MXenes and MBenes in carbon capture technologies in their recent research. The study was published on October 4^th, 2023, in the journal Chem.

In this review, we conducted an exhaustive analysis and proposed strategies for the widespread implementation of these materials in large-scale applications. Their unique properties make them excellent candidates for capturing carbon dioxide.

Mihri Ozkan, Climate Action Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Bourns College of Engineering

According to Ozkan, these two-dimensional materials can be intentionally designed to specifically capture carbon dioxide. One of their primary advantages is their remarkable selectivity for carbon dioxide, a feature achieved through a process known as interlayer distance engineering. Furthermore, these materials exhibit robust mechanical stability, preserving their structural integrity even after undergoing numerous carbon capture and release cycles.

With human-generated carbon dioxide emissions on the rise, the development of carbon-capture technologies has become a critical imperative. Projections indicate that the planet’s temperature could ascend by 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels within the next decade, triggering a surge in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, exacerbating droughts and crop failures, escalating human migration, and fostering political instability.

These adverse consequences underscore the pressing and immediate need for concerted efforts to reduce carbon emissions and alleviate the consequences of climate change.

Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia made the breakthrough discovery of MXenes and MBenes in the early 2010s. MXene is an inorganic compound composed of atomically thin layers of transition metal carbides, nitrides, or carbonitrides.

Conversely, MBenes are dimensional transition metal borides derived from boron. These compounds are created using chemical etching methods and possess crystalline lattices characterized by repeating orthorhombic and hexagonal structures.

Ozkan elucidated that these materials can be effectively integrated with existing technologies, including those pioneered by the Swiss company Climework AS. These systems are designed to directly capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and securely store it for safe and long-term storage.

Before these compounds can be effectively employed in carbon capture devices, Ozkan notes that several technical challenges must be addressed. The first among these is the need to overcome synthesis-related bottlenecks associated with large-volume production.

Additional obstacles in scaling up manufacturing include issues such as non-uniform mixing, temperature gradients, and heat transfer problems, among others. Nevertheless, these challenges are surmountable.

Ozkan suggests that a top-down approach is the most suitable for achieving large-scale MXene synthesis. This involves upscaling wet etching methods or developing new ones to meet the demand.

The co-authors of the paper include UCR’s Kathrine A.M. Quiros, Jordyn M. Watkins, Talyah M. Nelson, Navindra D. Singh, Mahbub Chowdhury, Thrayesh Namboodiri, Kamal R. Talluri, and Emma Yuan.

Journal Reference:

Ozkan, M., et al. (2023) Curbing pollutant CO₂ by using two-dimensional MXenes and MBenes. Chem. doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2023.09.001.

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