Unconventional, Highly Selective CO2 Adsorption in Zeolite SSZ-13

Low-pressure adsorption of carbon dioxide and nitrogen was studied in both acidic and copper-exchanged forms of SSZ-13, a zeolite containing an 8-ring window. Under ideal conditions for industrial separations of CO, from N-2, the ideal adsorbed solution theory selectivity is >70 in each compound. For low gas coverage, the isosteric heat of adsorption for CO2 was found to be 33.1 and 34.0 kJ/mol for Cu- and H-SSZ-13, respectively. From in situ neutron powder diffraction measurements, we ascribe the CO2 over N-2 selectivity to differences in binding sites for the two gases, where the primary CO2 binding site is located in the center of the 8-membered-ring pore window. This CO2 binding mode, which has important implications for use of zeolites in separations, has not been observed before and is rationalized and discussed relative to the high selectivity for CO2 over N-2 in SSZ-13 and other zeolites containing 8-ring windows.