Green and facile production of UTSA-16 (Zn) in aqueous media with improved CO2 adsorption performance.

[Display omitted] • An eco-friendly synthesis method has been developed to produce UTSA-16(Zn) using water as sole reaction solvent. • UTSA-16-(Zn)-100W synthesized in water showed an improved CO 2 capture performance over the parent UTSA-16(Zn). • UTSA-16(Zn)-100W presented a higher isosteric heat of adsorption (37.3 kJ/mol) for CO 2 than UTSA-16(Zn)-50W (31.1 kJ/mol). • UTSA-16(Zn)-100W exhibited excellent stability to humid air and NO 2 exposure. UTSA-16 (Zn) is the most promising adsorbent for CO 2 capture because of its excellent CO 2 capture performance and low material cost. An eco-friendly synthesis method for UTSA-16 (Zn) was investigated by changing the ratio of water to ethanol in solution (60:40 to 100:0) under microwave irradiation with different washing conditions: 1. diethyl ether and methanol washing (DEMW), 2. diethyl ether and water washing (DEWW), and 3. water washing (WW). Synthesis at an optimal ratio of water to ethanol (100:0) presented the best CO 2 adsorption capacity of 5.08 mmol/g and CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 120. The integrity of the samples was investigated in terms of the particle morphology, crystallinity, porosity, and thermal stability using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The stability of pelletized UTSA-16 (Zn) synthesized in a water-only solution was examined by exposing samples to humid air and acidic gases (NO 2 and SO 2); the pellets exhibited excellent stability to humid air and NO 2 exposure. Additionally, the pellets exhibited excellent recyclability during the temperature swing adsorption–desorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]