A critical review on potential applications of Metal-Organic frameworks (MOFs) in adsorptive carbon capture technologies

Development of carbon capture technologies is now considered to be an effective way to alleviate global warming, as they not only separate CO2 from the gas mixture, but also prepare it for further utilization. Selection of adsorbents is still in the research stage. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are attracting attention as powerful candidates for the most ideal carbon capture adsorbents due to excellent properties. A comprehensive review of the mainstream carbon capture technologies using MOFs was presented. A brief introduction of MOFs is given, describing their general properties, the adsorption mechanisms of rigid and flexible MOFs, and current methods for synthesis of MOFs. Gas separation tasks and working conditions of different carbon capture technologies are compared. Adsorbent regeneration cycles in each carbon capture process were described including TSA, PSA, VSA, and ESA. Some critical indicators for evaluating carbon capture performance are proposed for screening of MOFs.