Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Polymer Incorporating Activated Carbon for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Capture and Separation

Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and separation by ionic liquids is one of the fastest growing branches in ionic liquids technology. Ionic liquids have emerged as potential solvents or materials for CO2 capture and separation due to high chemical and thermal stability, virtually limitless chemical tunability, high ionic conductivity and their non-corrosive nature. The aim of this research project is therefore to synthesize ionic liquid polymer incorporating activated carbon and accompanying process for CO2 capture and separation. The ionic liquid monomer of 1-Vinyl-3-ethylimidazalioum bromide, [Veim][Br] and 1-Vinyl-3-ethylimidazalioum bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [Veim][Tf2N] were first synthesised to be used for the polymerization of the polymer material incorporating activated carbon. The purity of the [Veim][Br] and Veim][Tf2N] has been verified using 1H and 13C NMR and also Ion Chromatography (IC) and both are proven to be in high purity. Following that, two ionic liquid based polymer materials, Poly(1-Vinyl-3-ethylimidazalioum bromide), Poly[Veim][Br] and also Poly(1-Vinyl-3-ethylimidazalioum bis(trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl)imide), Poly[Veim][Tf2N] incorporating activated carbon were synthesized through free radical polymerization with 2,2'-azobis(isobutyronitirile) (AIBN) as the initiator with Trimethylolpropane tri-metacrylate (TRIM) as the crosslinker. The elemental composition of both polymer materials synthesized were examined using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), in order to prove that activated carbon has been successfully incorporated into the polymer molecules. Furthermore, the morphology of both polymer materials has been investigated using field scanning emission scanning electron microscopy, (SEM). The results reveals that incorporating activated carbon leaded to the reduction in the number of large pore in the polymer materials demonstrating the role of activated carbon in the structure of the polymer material by uniformly covered on the polymer surface.