Encapsulation of Ionic Liquids with an Aprotic Heterocyclic Anion (AHA-IL) for CO2 Capture: Preserving the Favorable Thermodynamics and Enhancing the Kinetics of Absorption

The performance of an ionic liquid with an aprotic heterocyclic anion (AHA-IL), trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium 2-cyanopyrrolide ([P-66614] [2-CNPYr]), for CO2 capture has been evaluated considering both the thermodynamics and the kinetics of the phenomena. Absorption gravimetric measurements of the gas-liquid equilibrium isotherms of CO2-AHA-IL systems were carried out from 298 to 333 K and at pressures up to 15 bar, analyzing the role of both chemical and physical absorption phenomena in the overall CO2 solubility in the AHA-IL, as has been done previously. In addition, the kinetics of the CO2 chemical absorption process was evaluated by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflection, following the characteristic vibrational signals of the reactants and products over the reaction time. A chemical absorption model was used to describe the time-dependent concentration of species involved in the reactive absorption, obtaining kinetic parameters (such as chemical reaction kinetic constants and diffusion coefficients) as a function of temperatures and pressures. As expected, the results demonstrate that the CO2 absorption rate is mass-transfer-controlled because of the relatively high viscosity of AHA-IL. The AHA-IL was encapsulated in a porous carbon sphere (Encapsulated Ionic Liquid, ENIL) to improve the kinetic performance of the AHA-IL for CO2 capture. The newly synthesized AHA-ENIL material was evaluated as a CO2 sorbent with gravimetric absorption measurements. AHA-ENIL systems preserve the good CO2 absorption capacity of the AFIA-IL but drastically enhance the CO2 absorption rate because of the increased gas-liquid surface contact area achieved by solvent encapsulation.