Nanoporous furfuryl-imine-chitosan fibers as a new pathway towards ecomaterials for CO2 adsorption

The goal of the paper was to design a new pathway towards eco-materials suitable for CO2 capture, by functionalization of nanoporous chitosan fibers with monoaldehydes via imination. To this end, nanoporous chitosan fibers were prepared by electrospinning and further reacted with furfural. Their morphology was investigated by SEM and AFM microscopies and revealed the formation of a network of nanoporous submicrometric fibers. The successful imination was proved by FTIR, XPS, and NMR spectroscopies. As a proof of concept, the CO2 adsorption isotherms displayed enhanced CO2 adsorption of the furfuryl-imine-chitosan fibers compared to pristine ones, indicating the imination of porous chitosan fibers as a feasible method to new eco-materials for CO2 adsorption.