Sponge soaks up coal emissions

Materials Science

A new energy-efficient ‘solar sponge’ developed by researchers at Monash University and CSIRO could drastically cut carbon emissions. The sponge is made from photosensitive material called a metal organic framework (MOF) – a class of materials with exceptional capacity to store gases. The ‘sponge’ adsorbs carbon dioxide, but when exposed to sunlight, instantaneously releases it.

“For the first time, this has opened up the opportunity to design carbon capture system that uses sunlight to trigger the release of carbon dioxide,” said Professor Bradley Ladewig, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Monash University.

MOFs are clusters of metal atoms connected by organic molecules. They have an extremely high internal surface area enabling them to store large volumes of gas.The material was developed using light-sensitive azobenzene molecules.

“The MOF can release the adsorbed carbon dioxide when irradiated with light found in the sunlight, just like wringing out a sponge,” said PhD student Richelle Lyndon who led the research. “The MOF we discovered had a particular affinity for carbon dioxide. However, the light responsive molecules could potentially be combined with other MOFs, making the capture and release technology appropriate for other gases.”

Future plans for the research team are to optimise the material to increase the efficiency of carbon dioxide uptake to levels suitable for an industrial environment.

The study is detailed in Angewandte Chemie.

Paper: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201206359/abstract

Image: credit Larissa Lyndon