Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of carbon dioxide capture.

Carbon dioxide capture is an important greenhouse gas mitigation technology that can help limit climate change. The design of improved capture materials requires a detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which carbon dioxide is bound. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy methods have emerged as a powerful probe of CO sorption and diffusion in carbon capture materials. In this article, we first review the practical considerations for carrying out NMR measurements on capture materials dosed with CO and we then present three case studies that review our recent work on NMR studies of CO binding in metal-organic framework materials. We show that simple C NMR experiments are often inadequate to determine CO binding modes, but that more advanced experiments such as multidimensional NMR experiments and O NMR experiments can lead to more conclusive structural assignments. We further discuss how pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR can be used to explore diffusion of adsorbed CO through the porous framework. Finally, we provide an outlook on the challenges and opportunities for the further development of NMR methodologies that can improve our understanding of carbon capture.