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The role of metal–organic frameworks in a carbon-neutral energy cycle

Nature Energy volume 1, Article number: 16034 (2016) Cite this article

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Abstract

Reducing society's reliance on fossil fuels presents one of the most pressing energy and environmental challenges facing our planet. Hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide, which are some of the smallest and simplest molecules known, may lie at the centre of solving this problem through realization of a carbon-neutral energy cycle. Potentially, this could be achieved through the deployment of hydrogen as the fuel of the long term, methane as a transitional fuel, and carbon dioxide capture and sequestration as the urgent response to ongoing climate change. Here we detail strategies and technologies developed to overcome the difficulties encountered in the capture, storage, delivery and conversion of these gas molecules. In particular, we focus on metal–organic frameworks in which metal oxide ‘hubs’ are linked with organic ‘struts’ to make materials of ultrahigh porosity, which provide a basis for addressing this challenge through materials design on the molecular level.

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Figure 1: Production pathways of key gases in the provision of energy.

© LU DING/DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Figure 2: Crystal structure of MOF-210.
Figure 3: Crystal structure of MOF-519.
Figure 4: Carbon dioxide uptake versus BET surface area.
Figure 5: Different principles of selective carbon dioxide capture in the presence of water.

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Acknowledgements

Funding of MOF research in the Yaghi group is supported by BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany), US Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (HDTRA 1-12-1-0053), US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Energy Frontier Research Center grant (DE-SC0001015), and King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST). A.S. gratefully acknowledges the German Research Foundation (DFG, SCHO 1639/1-1) for financial support. The authors would like to thank A. Fracaroli for help with collating data on carbon dioxide capture in the presence of water, L. Ding (Delft University of Technology) for producing Fig. 1 graphics, and Ahmad S. Alshammari for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Alexander Schoedel, Zhe Ji & Omar M. Yaghi

  2. Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Alexander Schoedel, Zhe Ji & Omar M. Yaghi

  3. Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    Alexander Schoedel, Zhe Ji & Omar M. Yaghi

  4. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, PO Box 6086, Riyadh, 11442, Saudi Arabia

    Omar M. Yaghi

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  1. Alexander Schoedel
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Correspondence to Omar M. Yaghi.

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Supplementary Data 1

Table of metal–organic frameworks showing Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area versus CO2 uptake at 298 K and 1 bar. (XLSX 43 kb)

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Schoedel, A., Ji, Z. & Yaghi, O. The role of metal–organic frameworks in a carbon-neutral energy cycle. Nat Energy 1, 16034 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2016.34

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