Electrochemical carbon dioxide capture recently emerged as a promising alternative approach to conventional energy-intensive carbon-capture methods. A common electrochemical capture approach is to employ redox-active molecules such as quinones. Upon electrochemical reduction, quinones become activated for the capture of CO 2 through a chemical reaction. A key disadvantage of this method is the possibility of side-reactions with oxygen, which is present in almost all gas mixtures of interest for carbon capture. This issue can potentially be mitigated by fine-tuning redox potentials through the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups on the quinone ring. In this article, we investigate the thermodynamics of the electron transfer and chemical steps of CO 2 capture in different quinone derivatives with a range of substituents. By combining density functional theory calculations and cyclic voltammetry experiments, we support a previously described trade-off between the redox potential and the strength of CO 2 capture. We show that redox potentials can readily be tuned to more positive values to impart stability to oxygen, but significant decreases in CO 2 binding free energies are observed as a consequence. Our calculations support this effect for a large series of anthraquinones and benzoquinones. Different trade-off relationships were observed for the two classes of molecules. These trade-offs must be taken into consideration in the design of improved redox-active molecules for electrochemical CO 2 capture.

Friction at water−carbon interfaces remains a major puzzle with theories and simulations unable to explain experimental trends in nanoscale waterflow. A recent theoretical framework�quantum friction (QF)�proposes to resolve these experimental observations by considering nonadiabatic coupling between dielectric fluctuations in water and graphitic surfaces.Here, using a classical model that enables fine-tuning of the solid's dielectric spectrum, we provide evidence from simulations in general support of QF. In particular, as features in the solid's dielectric spectrum begin to overlap with water's librational and Debye modes, we find an increase in friction in line with that proposed by QF. At the microscopic level, we find that this contribution to friction manifests more distinctly in the dynamics of the solid's charge density than that of water. Our findings suggest that experimental signatures of QF may be more pronounced in the solid's response rather than liquid water's.

Electrochemical carbon dioxide capture has recently emerged as a promising alternative approach to conventional energy-intensive carbon capture methods. The most common electrochemical capture approach is to employ redox-active molecules such as quinones. Upon electrochemical reduction, quinones become activated for the chemical capture of CO2. The main disadvantage of this method is the possibility of side-reactions with oxygen, which is present in almost all gas mixtures of interest for carbon capture. This issue can potentially be mitigated by fine-tuning redox potentials through the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups on the quinone ring. In this article, we investigate the thermodynamics of the electron transfer and chemical steps of CO2 capture in different anthraquinone derivatives with a range of substituents. By combining density functional theory calculations and cyclic voltammetry experiments, we discover a trade-off between redox potentials and the strength of CO2 capture. We show that redox potentials can readily be tuned to more positive values to impart stability to oxygen, but as a consequence, significant decreases in CO2 binding free energies are observed. This trade-off must be taken into consideration for the design of improved redox active molecules for electrochemical CO2 capture.

No abstract

Electrochemical carbon dioxide capture has recently emerged as a promising alternative approach to conven- tional energy-intensive carbon capture methods. The most common electrochemical capture approach is to employ redox-active molecules such as quinones. Upon electrochemical reduction, quinones become activated for the chemical capture of CO2. The main disadvantage of this method is the possibility of side-reactions with oxygen, which is present in almost all gas mixtures of interest for carbon capture. This issue can potentially be mitigated by fine-tuning redox potentials through the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups on the quinone ring. In this article, we investigate the thermodynamics of the electron transfer and chemical steps of CO2 capture in different anthraquinone derivatives with a range of substituents. By combining density functional theory calculations and cyclic voltammetry experiments, we discover a trade-off between redox potentials and the strength of CO2 capture. We show that redox potentials can readily be tuned to more positive values to impart stability to oxygen, but as a consequence, significant decreases in CO2 binding free energies are observed. This trade-off must be taken into consideration for the design of improved redox active molecules for electrochemical CO2 capture.