Synthesis and characterization of bimetallic Ni‐Cu‐BDC from waste plastic as a highly efficient CO2/N2 selective adsorbent

Abstract In this work, a bimetallic Ni‐Cu‐BDC metal‐organic framework system was developed via solvent thermal approach with using an organic ligand recycled from waste plastic. The physical properties of Cu‐BDC and bimetallic Ni‐Cu‐BDC were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) and N 2 isotherms adsorption‐desorption (BET). The results have demonstrated the formation of Ni‐Cu‐BDC crystals with a highly porous structure (surface area up to 502 m 2 /g and pore volume about 0.208 cm 3 /g) and particle size of 2‐3 μm. Importantly, the Ni‐Cu‐BDC exhibited superior CO 2 adsorption capacity of 5.85 mmol/g at 20°C and 1 atm. These findings indicated the potential application of bimetallic MOFs in CO 2 capture technologies to fight global warming.