Electrochemical CO2 Capture Materials and Techniques

Electrochemical approaches to carbon dioxide capture harness electrical stimuli to drive CO2 adsorption and release, offering tunable, reversible and energy‐efficient alternatives to thermal and chemical methods. Central to this paradigm are redox‐active materials and electrode architectures that modulate surface affinity through applied potentials. Two broad mechanisms prevail: Faradaic processes, in which charge transfer induces chemical binding or release of CO2, and non‐Faradaic electrostatic adsorption in which the electric double layer at an electrode surface sequesters CO2 molecules. Material platforms include functionalised two‐dimensional nanosheets, doped carbon frameworks, conductive polymers and nanoporous metal–organic or covalent‐organic frameworks. Key advances have demonstrated switchable capture by altering electrode charge, enabling capture at moderate potentials and release upon voltage reversal, often at ambient temperature and pressure. Integration with flow cells and membraneless reactors has enhanced throughput, while advances in electrodeporosity and conductivity have improved capacity and selectivity, signalling a pathway towards modular, decentralised CO2 capture technologies with lower carbon and cost footprints.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have explored fullerene and carbon nitride sorbents with electro‐tunable capture properties. One investigation of small fullerene cages modified with boron or nitrogen dopants under an applied electric field demonstrated that these doped C20 structures exhibit significantly enhanced CO2 binding energies when charged, transitioning from weak physisorption to stronger physicochemical adsorption. The work highlighted that B- and N-doped fullerenes outperform pristine C20 by concentrating frontier orbitals near the adsorption site, while an external field further amplifies uptake and modulates desorption. Earlier foundational research on graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets revealed a highly reversible, electrocatalytic switch: injection of electrons into the g-C4N3 framework dramatically increases CO2 adsorption capacity and selectivity over CH4, H2 or N2, with spontaneous desorption upon electron removal. This reversible, barrier‐free process underscored the potential of conductive polymeric nitrides as easily synthesised, high‐capacity electrochemical sorbents.

Electrochemical CO2 Capture Materials and Techniques publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical co2 capture materials and techniques across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Faradaic process: A mechanism involving electron transfer that induces redox reactions on an electrode surface, often leading to chemisorption of CO2.

Electric double layer (EDL): A structure of charged ions at the electrode–electrolyte interface that stores electrostatic energy and can adsorb neutral molecules.

Physisorption: The reversible adsorption of molecules on a surface via weak van der Waals forces without chemical bond formation.

Chemisorption: The adsorption of molecules involving the formation of chemical bonds with the surface, generally stronger and less reversible than physisorption.

Redox‐active material: A substance capable of undergoing reversible oxidation and reduction, altering its affinity for CO2 upon changes in charge state.

References

1. Conductive Graphitic Carbon Nitride as an Ideal Material for Electrocatalytically Switchable CO2 Capture. Scientific Reports (2015).
2. SiC3 as a Charge-Regulated Material for CO2 Capture. Crystals (2021).
3. Adsorption behavior of CO2 molecule on AlN and silicene—application to gas capture devices. PeerJ Materials Science (2020).
4. DFT study on CO2 capture using boron, nitrogen, and phosphorus-doped C20 in the presence of an electric field. Scientific Reports (2024).