Amine-Tethered Adsorbents Based on Three-Dimensional Macroporous Silica for CO2 Capture from Simulated Flue Gas and Air

New covalently tethered CO2 adsorbents are synthesized through the in situ polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) of l-alanine from amine-functionalized three-dimensional (3D) interconnected macroporous silica (MPS). The interconnected macropores provide low-resistant pathways for the diffusion of CO2 molecules, while the abundant mesopores ensure the high pore volume. The adsorbents exhibit high molecular weight (of up to 13058 Da), high amine loading (more than 10.98 mmol N g–1), fast CO2 capture kinetics (t 1/2 < 1 min), high adsorption capacity (of up to 3.86 mmol CO2 g–1 in simulated flue gas and 2.65 mmol CO2 g–1 in simulated ambient air under 1 atm of dry CO2), as well as good stability over 120 adsorption–desorption cycles, which allows the overall CO2 capture process to be promising and sustainable.