Two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy and principal component analysis on the carbonation of sterically hindered alkanolamines.

Despite the academic and industrial importance of the chemical reaction between carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and alkanolamine, the delicate and precise monitoring of the reaction dynamics by conventional one-dimensional (1D) spectroscopy is still challenging, due to the overlapped bands and the restricted static information. Herein, we report two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy (2D IR COS) and principal component analysis (PCA) on the reaction dynamics of a sterically hindered amine, 2-[(1,1-dimethylethyl)amino]ethanol (TBAE) and CO(2). The formation of carbonate rather than carbamate species, which contribute to the unusual high working capacity of ∼1 mole CO(2) per mole of TBAE at 40 °C, occurs through deprotonation of the hydroxyl group, protonation on the nitrogen atom of the amino group, and formation of a carbonate species due to the steric hindrance of the tert-butyl group. In particular, PCA captures the chemical transition into a carbonate species and the main contributions of ν(CO(2)), ν(OH), ν(C - N), and ν(C=O) bands to the carbonation, while 2D IR COS verifies the interrelation of four bands and their changes. Therefore, these results provide a powerful analytic method to understand the complex and abnormal reaction dynamics as well as the rational design strategy for the CO(2) absorbents.

Nitrile-functionalized tertiary amines as highly efficient and reversible SO2 absorbents.

Three different types of nitrile-functionalized amines, including 3-(N,N-diethylamino)propionitrile (DEAPN), 3-(N,N-dibutylamino)propionitrile (DBAPN), and N-methyl-N,N-dipropionitrile amine (MADPN) were synthesized, and their SO2 absorption performances were evaluated and compared with those of hydroxy-functionalized amines such as N,N-diethyl-N-ethanol amine (DEEA), N,N-dibutyl-N-ethanol amine (DBEA), and N-methyl-N,N-diethanol amine (MDEA). Absorption-desorption cycle experiments clearly demonstrate that the nitrile-functionalized amines are more efficient than the hydroxy-functionalized amines in terms of absorption rate and regenerability. Computational calculations with DBEA and DBAPN revealed that DBEA bearing a hydroxyethyl group chemically interacts with SO2 through oxygen atom, forming an ionic compound with a covalently bound OSO2(-) group. On the contrary, DBAPN bearing a nitrile group physically interacts with SO2 through the nitrogen and the hydrogen atoms of the two methylene groups adjacent to the amino and nitrile functionalities.