Functionalized porous sorbent materials
The SCENE project, a collaborative effort under the ETH-Domain umbrella, addresses the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The Laboratory for Computational Engineering (LCE) is specifically engaged in the work package focused on the advancement of direct air capture (DAC), a negative CO2 technology.
The research task involves research on functionalized porous sorbent materials, such as silica gels, zeolites, metal-organic frameworks, and their composites, characterized by hierarchical pore structure and surface chemistry. The characteristics of the sorbent material must allow for significant sorption of CO2 under its low partial pressure and ambient humidity. Because of the scarcity of commercial materials that could be used for DAC application, the potential sorbent materials are developed, synthesized, and characterized in the LCE laboratory in collaboration with the partners (Syncat group; Paul Scherrer Institut, Building Energy Materials and Components Laboratory; Empa).
The laboratory is involved in understanding the process's mechanisms and dynamics based on experimental data, supplemented by state-of-the-art molecular dynamics and density functional theory simulations. The objective of this holistic approach is to tune carbon dioxide and water co-adsorption on potential sorbent materials to meet input requirements for the processes following the separation step while maintaining the energetic feasibility of the DAC process.
