Preparation of novel CO₂ "molecular basket" of polymer modified MCM-41

A novel kind of high-capacity, highly selective CO₂ adsorbent, which is a CO₂ "molecular basket" was recently developed. By loading the sterically branched polymer polyethylenimine (PEI) with numerous CO₂-capturing sites such as amino groups, into the large pore volume of MCM-41, its adsorption capacity was significantly increased. Preparation approaches to further improve the CO₂ adsorption performance of this molecular basket were reported. The synergetic effect of the MCM-41 on the adsorption of CO₂ by the PEI was discussed. A novel CO₂ molecular basket based on PEI modified mesoporous molecular sieve of MCM-41 (MCM-41-PEI) was successfully developed. The MCM-41 had a synergetic effect on the adsorption of CO₂ by PEI. By loading substances with affinities for different gases to the mesoporous molecular sieve, this concept could be utilized to develop different types of highly selective, high adsorption capacity molecular baskets.