Linking CO2 Sorption Performance to Polymer Morphology in Aminopolymer/Silica Composites through Neutron Scattering

Composites of poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) and mesoporous silica are effective, reversible adsorbents for CO2, both from flue gas and in direct air-capture applications. The morphology of the PEI within the silica can strongly impact the overall carbon capture efficiency and rate of saturation. Here, we directly probe the spatial distribution of the supported polymer through small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Combined with textural characterization from physisorption analysis, the data indicate that PEI first forms a thin conformal coating on the pore walls, but all additional polymer aggregates into plug(s) that grow along the pore axis. This model is consistent with observed trends in amine-efficiency (CO2/N binding ratio) and pore size distributions, and points to a trade-off between achieving high chemical accessibility of the amine binding sites, which are inaccessible when they strongly interact with the silica, and high accessibility for mass transport, which can be hampered by diffusion through PEI plugs. We illustrate this design principle by demonstrating higher CO2 capacity and uptake rate for PEI supported in a hydrophobically modified silica, which exhibits repulsive interactions with the PEI, freeing up binding sites.