Aminating modification of viscose fibers and their CO2 adsorption properties

An adsorbent for CO₂ capture was prepared by the grafting of acrylonitrile (AN) onto viscose fibers (VFs); this was followed by amination with triethylene tetramine (TETA). The effects of the reaction conditions, such as the concentrations of the monomer, initiator, and nitric acid, on the grafting degree and grafting efficiency were studied. The adsorption performance of the adsorbent for CO₂ was evaluated by fixed‐bed adsorption. The highest dynamic adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for CO₂ was 4.35 mmol/g when the amine content of the adsorbent VF–AN–TETA reached 13.21 mmol/g. Compared with the polypropylene (PP)‐fiber‐based adsorbent (PP–AN–TETA), VF–AN–TETA with hydroxyl groups on the fibers facilitated the diffusion of CO₂ and water and led to a higher CO₂ adsorption capacity than that of PP–AN–TETA. The VF–AN–TETA adsorbent also showed good regeneration performance: its CO₂ adsorption capacity could still retain almost the same capacity as the fresh adsorbent after 10 adsorption–desorption cycles. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 132, 42840.