Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integrity
Abstract In structured adsorbents, achieving mesoporosity, crucial for efficient gas adosorption, is challenging, which restricts mass transport and accessibility to active sites. Here, we address this limitation by developing the first hierarchically porous honeycomb aerogels that replicate hexagon...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Materials |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00861-9 |
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| author | Sucharita Pal Edward PL Roberts Milana Trifkovic Giovanniantonio Natale |
| author_facet | Sucharita Pal Edward PL Roberts Milana Trifkovic Giovanniantonio Natale |
| author_sort | Sucharita Pal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In structured adsorbents, achieving mesoporosity, crucial for efficient gas adosorption, is challenging, which restricts mass transport and accessibility to active sites. Here, we address this limitation by developing the first hierarchically porous honeycomb aerogels that replicate hexagonal pores at both the macro-level and micro-level wall structure. This design, inspired by nature’s most efficient patterns, enables us to achieve CO₂ adsorption capacity (3.94 mmol g−¹ at 298 K and 1 bar), selectivity (65.2 CO₂/N₂), and high specific surface area (370 m² g−¹). The honeycomb aerogels are constructed from manganese dioxide (MnO₂) functionalized electrochemically exfoliated graphene (MEEG) and chitosan (CS). By optimizing the MnO₂ loading and the MEEG to CS weight ratio, we achieved dual-scale hexagonal porosity, enabling a hybrid physical and chemical adsorption mechanism. The hybrid adsorption leverages the rapid kinetics of chemisorption and ease of regeneration characteristic of physisorption, making these materials highly efficient. This highlights the synergy between enhanced surface accessibility of primary amine groups and selective adsorption properties, setting a new standard for hierarchically structured materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6e33749bced34ae39cfeb1303ee08022 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2662-4443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-6e33749bced34ae39cfeb1303ee080222025-08-20T03:03:25ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Materials2662-44432025-07-01611910.1038/s43246-025-00861-9Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integritySucharita Pal0Edward PL Roberts1Milana Trifkovic2Giovanniantonio Natale3Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of CalgaryDepartment of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of CalgaryDepartment of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of CalgaryDepartment of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of CalgaryAbstract In structured adsorbents, achieving mesoporosity, crucial for efficient gas adosorption, is challenging, which restricts mass transport and accessibility to active sites. Here, we address this limitation by developing the first hierarchically porous honeycomb aerogels that replicate hexagonal pores at both the macro-level and micro-level wall structure. This design, inspired by nature’s most efficient patterns, enables us to achieve CO₂ adsorption capacity (3.94 mmol g−¹ at 298 K and 1 bar), selectivity (65.2 CO₂/N₂), and high specific surface area (370 m² g−¹). The honeycomb aerogels are constructed from manganese dioxide (MnO₂) functionalized electrochemically exfoliated graphene (MEEG) and chitosan (CS). By optimizing the MnO₂ loading and the MEEG to CS weight ratio, we achieved dual-scale hexagonal porosity, enabling a hybrid physical and chemical adsorption mechanism. The hybrid adsorption leverages the rapid kinetics of chemisorption and ease of regeneration characteristic of physisorption, making these materials highly efficient. This highlights the synergy between enhanced surface accessibility of primary amine groups and selective adsorption properties, setting a new standard for hierarchically structured materials.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00861-9 |
| spellingShingle | Sucharita Pal Edward PL Roberts Milana Trifkovic Giovanniantonio Natale Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integrity Communications Materials |
| title | Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integrity |
| title_full | Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integrity |
| title_fullStr | Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integrity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integrity |
| title_short | Biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior CO2 adsorption, selectivity, and structural integrity |
| title_sort | biomimetic aerogels with hierarchical honeycomb architecture for superior co2 adsorption selectivity and structural integrity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00861-9 |
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