Kinetics of carbon dioxide binding by 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine in 1-hexanol

•Reaction of TMG/1-hexanol solution and CO2 was analyzed by stopped flow conductimetry.•Termolecular reaction mechanism was found to comply well with the experimental data.•Activation energy of the reaction is reported for the first time.•TMG/1-hexanol solution has a better potential for switchable solvent applications. Switchable solvents, also known as the carbon dioxide-binding organic liquids (CO2BOLs), are novel solvents featuring the ability to switch between polar and non-polar states, opening a wide range of applications, such as combined synthesis and product separation. In addition, these solvents have very suitable properties for carbon dioxide capture, such as low heat capacities, high boiling points, higher physical and chemical absorption capacities and reversible fixation of carbon dioxide. In this study, kinetic analysis of one of these solvent systems, 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine (TMG) in 1-hexanol, was performed so as to enable the design of experiments and absorber models. The reaction mechanism was determined to comply with termolecular reaction mechanism and pseudo-first order behavior was observed in excess TMG and 1-hexanol. The activation energy of the reaction was also reported.