Together with Prof. Stefano Brandani and Prof. Lev Sarkisov in the School of Engineering, we are developing novel, highly porous carbon-based materials for carbon capture applications. We are currently particularly interested in highly porous carbon aerogels that we synthesise from carbon nanotubes and poyvinyl alcohol. These light-weight materials can be filled with liquid amines that interact strongly with CO2 and can be used to extract the greenhouse gas from even dilute gas streams. At present we are optimising the CO2 uptake of these materials by increasing the effiiency of interaction with the amine groups in the encapsulated liquid.
The advantage of using carbon aerogels compared to silica aerogels that are more widely investigated is that the electrical conductivity of the materials allows regeneration via ohmic heating.
CNT/PVA aerogel supported on a blade of grass