Anhydrous “Dry Ionic Liquids”: A promising absorbent for CO2 capture

Anhydrous “Dry Ionic Liquids” (D-ILs) were prepared by wrapping task functionalized ionic liquid solutions of ethylene glycol or glycerol with hydrophobic silica nanoparticles , to form micron-sized particles with fluidity for rapid capture of CO 2 . The anhydrous D-ILs not only play the advantages of two substances: the stability of ionic liquid and the micro-size of “Dry matter”, but also effectively overcome the shortcomings of high viscosity of ILs and the water loss of dry matters containing aqueous solutions. Physical properties of these D-ILs, including true density, specific surface area and mean size were determined to evaluate the influence of the solution concentration on the micron particle morphology. The CO 2 capture capacity and capture rate of D-ILs were also investigated and compared with those of the corresponding solutions. It is confirmed that the D-ILs exhibit significantly high speed for CO 2 capture, excellent absorption capacity and considerable regeneration efficiency. The micron structure of D-ILs can completely overcome the resistance of high viscosity and thereby plays out the chemical characteristics of task specific ionic liquids (TSILs).