Department
Chemistry
Major
Chemistry
Research Advisor
Sotiriou-Leventis, Lia
Advisor's Department
Chemistry
Funding Source
National Science Foundation
Abstract
The accelerated increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere over the modern era damages natural ecosystems through ocean acidification and global warming. As such, carbon capture is an essential tool for regulating CO2 levels from rising further, or, ideally, decreasing the carbon footprint overall. This project's goal is to formulate new materials for high capacity and selective CO2 adsorption. The material of focus is polymerized from the newly synthesized tetrahydroquinazoline (THQ) monomer. THQ is prepared in a four-step synthesis and polymerized through an acid catalyzed ring-opening mechanism. The PTHQ wet gels are then dried in an autoclave using supercritical CO2, resulting in aerogels which are aromatized at 240C under O2. The fully oxidized PTHQ aerogels are then carbonized at high temperatures under inert gas to yield carbon aerogels. These aerogels are further etched at 1000C under CO2 flow to increase the micropore volume dramatically. Finally, the carbon aerogels are evaluated for CO2 adsorption capacity and selectivity. The etched carbon aerogels show very high CO2 adsorption at atmospheric pressure (1 bar) and 273K, as well as high selectivity towards CO2 in comparison to H2, CH4, and N2 gases. Overall, the PTHQ carbon aerogels show promise as future candidates for carbon capture.
Biography
Joey Gloriod is a senior in chemistry, and this is his second semester doing research in Dr Leventis's lab with PhD student Vaibhav Edlabadkar. He is on track to graduate in the fall of 2022 and plans to go into graduate school seeking a PhD in Organic Chemistry. Beyond chemistry, he has been an active participant in the MSM Spelunker's club and was president of Spectrum for the 2020-2021 academic year. He is passionate about chemistry and hopes to expand his knowledge in the field until he can eventually teach future generations to have the same passion for science.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Document Type
Presentation
Award
Sciences – section 1 oral presentation, First place
Location
Meramec Room
Presentation Date
14 Apr 2022, 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
THQ Synthesis, Formation of Aerogels for CO2 Capture
Meramec Room
The accelerated increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere over the modern era damages natural ecosystems through ocean acidification and global warming. As such, carbon capture is an essential tool for regulating CO2 levels from rising further, or, ideally, decreasing the carbon footprint overall. This project's goal is to formulate new materials for high capacity and selective CO2 adsorption. The material of focus is polymerized from the newly synthesized tetrahydroquinazoline (THQ) monomer. THQ is prepared in a four-step synthesis and polymerized through an acid catalyzed ring-opening mechanism. The PTHQ wet gels are then dried in an autoclave using supercritical CO2, resulting in aerogels which are aromatized at 240C under O2. The fully oxidized PTHQ aerogels are then carbonized at high temperatures under inert gas to yield carbon aerogels. These aerogels are further etched at 1000C under CO2 flow to increase the micropore volume dramatically. Finally, the carbon aerogels are evaluated for CO2 adsorption capacity and selectivity. The etched carbon aerogels show very high CO2 adsorption at atmospheric pressure (1 bar) and 273K, as well as high selectivity towards CO2 in comparison to H2, CH4, and N2 gases. Overall, the PTHQ carbon aerogels show promise as future candidates for carbon capture.
