Natural porous nanorods used for high-efficient capture and chemical conversion of CO2

Abstract There are abundant mineral resources in nature, and how to skilfully use natural mineral resources as a novel material for CO2 capture and conversion seems to be one of the most sensible strategies. Therefore, for the first time, we report a natural and inexpensive nano-mineral as a bifunctional material for CO2 efficient capture and conversion. The material is a natural 1D porous nanomaterial, and its unique multi-metal weak alkaline pore structure, not only can capture CO2, but also has the advantages of multi-metal synergistic catalysis. The best catalytic activity is shown in the coupling reaction of CO2 with epoxy compounds compared to other clay minerals reported. The catalyst has a unique pore structure, which makes it exhibit excellent substrate selectivity in the catalytic reaction and has remarkable catalytic activity for the sterically hindered epoxy substrate. In addition, the nano-catalyst prepared by using attapulgite as a carrier in combination with ZIF-8 exhibits best catalytic activity as compared with the use of any of its components alone. This new type of natural nano-catalyst provides an effective way for CO2 capture and conversion.