Roles of london dispersive and polar components of nano-metal-coated activated carbons for improving carbon dioxide uptake

Adsorption using carbonaceous materials has been considered as the prevailing technology for CO₂ capture because it offers advantages such as high adsorption capacity, durability, and economic benefits. Activated carbon (AC) has been widely used as an adsorbent for CO₂ capture. We investigated CO₂ adsorption behaviors of magnesium oxide-coated AC (MgO-AC) as a function of MgO content. The microstructure and textural properties of MgO-AC were characterized by X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms at 77 K, respectively. The CO₂ adsorption behaviors of MgO-AC were evaluated at 298 K and 1 atm. Our experimental results revealed that the presence of MgO plays a key role in increasing the CO₂ uptake through the interaction between an acidic adsorbate (e⁺) and an efficient basic adsorbent (e⁻).