Synthesizing MgO with a high specific surface for carbon dioxide adsorption

In this work, highly porous MgO was synthesized for CO 2 adsorption by a simple and economic thermal decomposition of basic magnesium carbonate and magnesium oxalate. Characterizations of the synthesized samples were accomplished using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results showed that the synthesized MgO possessed a high BET surface area in a range of 161-252 m 2 g −1 and a highly porous structure. Thermo gravimetric analysis revealed that the synthesized MgO not only showed good selectivity to CO 2 but also yielded a CO 2 adsorption capacity of as high as 7.59 wt%. Besides, in situ FTIR spectroscopy and CO 2 TPD curves demonstrated that the adsorption mechanism of synthesized MgO was mainly attributable to chemisorption and it could be regenerated at relatively low temperature. This work provides a new way to synthesize MgO with a highly porous structure for CO 2 adsorption. Porous MgO were synthesized by simple and economic methods. The synthesized MgO exhibited highly porous structure and high CO 2 adsorption capacity. This work provides a new way to synthesized MgO with highly porous structure for CO 2 adsorption.