Ni/Fe-loaded mesoporous KIT-6 enhanced proton transfer for efficient CO2 desorption

Catalytic solvent regeneration has garnered significant attention due to its capacity to lower energy demands in industrial processes, promoting broader adoption of carbon capture systems. While progress has been made in catalyst engineering, creating efficient solid acid catalysts still encounters critical obstacles such as synthesizing mesoporous architectures with extensive surface areas and improving the spatial arrangement of active sites. Herein, this study developed a Ni/Fe@KIT-6 catalyst with ordered porosity and dual metal acid sites, leveraging the three-dimensional cubic pore structure of mesoporous silica to enhance liquid-solid mass transfer. The anchored Ni/Fe clusters synergistically enhanced proton transfer, reducing the activation energy of carbamate decomposition through optimized intermediate adsorption configurations. Catalytic testing revealed a 58.1 % enhancement in CO₂ desorption efficiency alongside a 41.2 % decrease in energy requirements relative to non-catalytic systems. The material maintained stable performance across multiple absorption-desorption cycles (efficiency decline <10 %), linked to the KIT-6 framework's retained structural stability and optimized metal-support bonding. Theoretical calculations revealed that the Ni/Fe dual sites lowered the CO 2 desorption reaction energy barrier, aligning with the enhanced CO₂ desorption efficiency. This synergistic interaction of dual metal acid sites within a high-surface-area architecture highlights viable pathways for scalable and energy-efficient CO₂ desorption, thereby advancing practical strategies for large-scale deployment of carbon capture technologies.