Binary and ternary mixtures of liquid crystals with CO2

Liquid crystals, elongated molecules with a structured liquid phase, may be used as new solvents for CO₂ capture. However, no molecule has been found yet with optimal properties. Therefore, mixtures of two liquid crystals and CO₂ are investigated. Also, the phase behavior of some binary subsystems of the investigated ternary systems is studied for comparison. In the mixtures investigated, 4,4′‐pentyloxycyanobiphenyl + 4,4′‐heptyloxycyanobiphenyl + CO₂ and 4,4′‐propylcyclohexylbenzonitrile + 4,4′‐heptylcyclohexylbenzonitrile + CO₂, the nematic phases form a nematic homogeneous solution and the solid phases form an eutectic system, leading to a material with improved properties for CO₂ capture. Moreover, the ternary mixture of 4,4′‐propylcyclohexylbenzonitrile + 4,4′‐heptylcyclohexylbenzonitrile + CO₂ showed an increased solubility of CO₂ compared with the binary subsystems. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2977–2984, 2015