Impact of Water Coadsorption for Carbon Dioxide Capture in Microporous Polymer Sorbents

Alcohol-containing polymer networks synthesized by Friedel–Crafts alkylation have surface areas of up to 1015 m²/g. Both racemic and chiral microporous binaphthol (BINOL) networks can be produced by a simple, one-step route. The BINOL networks show higher CO₂ capture capacities than their naphthol counterparts under idealized, dry conditions. In the presence of water vapor, however, these BINOL networks adsorb less CO₂ than more hydrophobic analogues, suggesting that idealized measurements may give a poor indication of performance under more realistic carbon capture conditions