In situ neutron powder diffraction study of carbon dioxide adsorption on an adaptable zeolite

The selective adsorption of gases is essential to many technologies in the industrial, energy, semiconductor, food and medical sectors. The total adsorbent market is worth about $2.4 billion, and the zeolite share of this is around one third. Most zeolite sorbents belong to the well known zeolite A and X structure types. Here we aim to study a zeolite, which, unlike those other materials, has an adaptable structure the pore size of which can be tuned by cation exchange. Here we aim to investigate different compositions of the promising zeolite during adsorption of the greenhouse gas CO2, for which it is known to be a selective adsorbent. Neutrons will enable us to locate light atoms in the zeolite and in the CO2 and help understand its behaviour. This forms part of a broader multi-university project looking into such adaptable zeolites.