Towards functionalized graphene/polymer monolithic structures for selective CO2 capture

A design of efficient adsorbent for CO2 selective capture without secondary pollution and by low carbon footprint strategies is crucial towards the decreasing of CO2 atmospheric concentration. To answer to this demand, in this work we present a versatile and robust technique for production of functionalized 3D porous graphene/polymer monolithic structures based on aqueous self-assembly process, in which the graphene functionalization occurred simultaneously throughout spontaneous addition of functionalized waterborne polymer particles. It was shown that the composite monoliths are truly products-by-process, as their final characteristic can be designed during the synthesis by varying the reaction parameters. The addition of polymer particles to the graphene skeleton was an excellent tool to control the textural properties, resulting in enlarged fraction of micropores, because the polymer particles act as spacers between rGO platelets. The higher microporosity certainly affected positively the performance, especially the selectivity of CO2 adsorption over that of N2, offering alternative technology for post-production CO2 capture.