UABDivulga - Barcelona recerca i innovació

The fight against climate change is urgent, and capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) is one of the most promising ways to make a difference. In our latest research, we set out to design materials that could revolutionize how we trap and store CO₂. Our focus? Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), remarkable materials with sponge-like pores that can soak up gases. But we didn’t stop there. We wanted to make these MOFs even smarter by giving them a chemical edge.

Using a popular MOF called UiO-66, we introduced amine groups, molecular "hooks" that can grab onto CO₂ molecules. By grafting amino acids onto the internal surfaces of the MOF, we explored how chain length affects their CO₂-trapping abilities. Through computational experiments, we found that not all amines are created equal. Short-chain amino acids like glycine and beta-alanine just didn’t get close enough to work together. But when we used longer chains, like gamma-aminobutyric acid and 5-aminovaleric acid, something remarkable happened. The longer chains allowed the amine groups to form hydrogen bonds, stabilizing CO₂ molecules inside the MOF.

This cooperative interaction even triggered a fascinating transformation, turning CO₂ into carbamic acid through a double hydrogen transfer. What’s even more exciting is how efficient these modifications can be. For example, with 5-aminovaleric acid, functionalizing just 16% of the available sites was enough to capture CO₂ effectively. That’s a big win for making these materials cost-efficient and scalable. We also found that tweaking the amines by adding protons could supercharge their CO₂ interactions, offering another way to optimize these systems.

Our work doesn’t stop here. We’re already in the lab, synthesizing and testing these modified MOFs to bring our designs to life. By combining computational insights with experimental validation, we’re paving the way for next-generation materials that could play a key role in reducing CO₂ emissions. It’s not just about capturing carbon, it’s about creating a greener, more sustainable future. And we’re excited to be part of that journey.