Influence of MgO template on carbon dioxide adsorption of cation exchange resin-based nanoporous carbon

In this work, porous carbons with well-developed pore structures were directly prepared from a weak acid cation exchange resin (CER) by the carbonization of a mixture with Mg acetate in different ratios. The effect of the Mg acetate-to-CER ratio on the pore structure and CO₂ adsorption capacities of the obtained porous carbons was studied. The textural properties and morphologies of the porous carbons were analyzed via N₂/77K adsorption/desorption isotherms, SEM, and TEM, respectively. The CO₂ adsorption capacities of the prepared porous carbons were measured at 298K and 1bar and 30bar. By dissolving the MgO template, the porous carbons exhibited high specific surface areas (326-1276m²/g) and high pore volumes (0.258-0.687cm³/g). The CO₂ adsorption capacities of the porous carbons were enhanced to 164.4mg/g at 1bar and 1045mg/g at 30bar by increasing the Mg acetate-to-CER ratio. This result indicates that CER was one of the carbon precursors to producing the porous structure, as well as for improving the CO₂ adsorption capacities of the carbon species.