CO2 evolution
is one of the urgent global issues; meanwhile,
understanding of sorptive/dynamic behavior is crucial to create next-generation
encapsulant materials with stable sorbent processes. Herein, we showcase
molecular CO2 storage constructed by a [60]fullerenol nanopocket.
The CO2 density reaches 2.401 g/cm3 within the
nanopore, showing strong intramolecular interactions, which induce
nanoconfinement effects such as forbidden translation, restricted
rotation, and perturbed vibration of CO2. We also disclosed
an equation of state for a molecular CO2 gas, revealing
a very low pressure of 3.14 rPa (1 rPa = 10–27 Pa)
generated by the rotation/vibration at 300 K. Curiously enough, the
CO2 capture enabled to modulate an external property of
the encapulant material itself, i.e., association of the [60]fullerenol
via intercage hydrogen-bonding.