Adsorption of CO2 and H2 on Nitrogen-doped Porous Carbon from Ionic Liquid Precursor

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon material was prepared via a simple one-step thermolysis method via the carbonization of ionic liquid, 1-cyanomethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (MCNIm]⁺Nf₂T]^-). The nanostructure of the resultant carbon material was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and the types of N-containing groups of the carbon material were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). The N-content of the carbon material is 18.6%(mass fraction) based on the elemental analysis. The produced mesoporous carbon material was further used as the solid sorbent for H₂ and CO₂. The hydrogen uptake capacity and H₂ isosteric heat of the carbon material were discussed. Furthermore, the nitrogen-containing carbon material as good sorbent shows relatively high adsorption and separation ability for CO₂ from CH₄, for which the heat of CO₂ adsorption(Q_st) is 31.8 kJ/mol. The mesoporous structure and nitrogen functionality make the carbon material with high adsorption capacity and selectivity for CO₂ and ability to store H₂, indicating that this kind of nitrogen-doped carbon material originated from ionic liquids is a promising sorbent material for high-performance separation and adsorption.