Facile access to template-shape-replicated nitrogen-rich mesoporous carbon nanospheres for highly efficient CO2capture and contaminant removal

Abstract

Rising atmospheric CO2 levels and water pollution have necessitated new research towards the development of novel CO2 capture materials and innovative methods for wastewater treatment. Herein, we demonstrate a facile fabrication strategy to prepare novel template-shape-replicated nitrogen-rich mesoporous carbon nanospheres (NMCN) with high surface area, pore volume and ordered pore geometry via a combination of in situ co-condensation, surface-confined atom transfer radical polymerization (SC-ATRP) and post-polymerization modification. NMCN exhibited efficient CO2 capture performance and contaminant removal capability from wastewater. This work may open a new direction for the design of novel porous nanomaterials for CO2 capture and other emerging applications.