New covalently tethered CO2 adsorbents are synthesized through the in situ polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) of l-alanine from amine-functionalized three-dimensional (3D) interconnected macroporous silica (MPS). The interconnected macropores provide low-resistant pathways for the diffusion of CO2 molecules, while the abundant mesopores ensure the high pore volume. The adsorbents exhibit high molecular weight (of up to 13058 Da), high amine loading (more than 10.98 mmol N g(-1)), fast CO2 capture kinetics (t1/2 < 1 min), high adsorption capacity (of up to 3.86 mmol CO2 g(-1) in simulated flue gas and 2.65 mmol CO2 g(-1) in simulated ambient air under 1 atm of dry CO2), as well as good stability over 120 adsorption-desorption cycles, which allows the overall CO2 capture process to be promising and sustainable.

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It was reported that the main obstacle of Li 2 ZrO 3 as high-temperature CO 2 absorbents is the very slow CO 2 sorption kinetics, which are ascribed to the gradual formation of compact zirconia and carbonate shells along with inner unreacted lithium zirconate cores; accordingly, the "sticky" Li + and O 2− ions have to travel a long distance through the solid shells by diffusion. We report here that three-dimensional interconnected nanoporous Li 2 ZrO 3 exhibiting ultrafast kinetics is promising for CO 2 sorption. Specifically, nanoporous Li 2 ZrO 3 (LZ-NP) exhibited a rapid sorption rate of 10.28 wt %/min with an uptake of 27 wt % of CO 2 . Typically, the k 1 values of LZ-NP (kinetic parameters extracted from sorption kinetics) were nearly 1 order of magnitude higher than the previously reported conventional Li 2 ZrO 3 reaction systems. Its sorption capacity of 25 wt % within ∼4 min is 2 orders of magnitude faster than those obtained using spherical Li 2 ZrO 3 powders. Furthermore, nanoporous Li 2 ZrO 3 exhibited good stability over 60 absorption−desorption cycles, showing its potential for practical CO 2 capture applications. CO 2 adsorption isotherms for Li 2 ZrO 3 absorbents were successfully modeled using a double-exponential equation at various CO 2 partial pressures.

An ionic conducting ethyl phosphate-polyethylene glycol based copolymer (abbreviated as EPCP) as a promising flame retardant additive is presented in this study. The flammability tests demonstrate that the liquid electrolyte with 15 wt% EPCP (abbreviated as EPCP15-LE) is totally nonflammable. More importantly, benefitted from the ionic transport capability of EPCP, the ionic conductivity of EPCP15-LE at room temperature is comparable with the liquid electrolyte (shorted as LE). Moreover, the resultant electrolyte possessed wide electrochemical window (4.3 V), which can be matched with relatively high voltage cathode materials. In addition, the cell using EPCP15-LE exhibits superior cycle performance and excellent rate capability. In a word, this flame retardant ionic conductor is a promising additive for safety-reinforced lithium battery.