Reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions urgently requires the large-scale deployment of carbon-capture technologies. These technologies must separate CO₂ from various sources and deliver it to different sinks^1,2. The quest for optimal solutions for specific source–sink pairs is a complex, multi-objective challenge involving multiple stakeholders and depends on social, economic and regional contexts. Currently, research follows a sequential approach: chemists focus on materials design³ and engineers on optimizing processes^4,5, which are then operated at a scale that impacts the economy and the environment. Assessing these impacts, such as the greenhouse gas emissions over the plant’s lifetime, is typically one of the final steps⁶. Here we introduce the PrISMa (Process-Informed design of tailor-made Sorbent Materials) platform, which integrates materials, process design, techno-economics and life-cycle assessment. We compare more than 60 case studies capturing CO₂ from various sources in 5 global regions using different technologies. The platform simultaneously informs various stakeholders about the cost-effectiveness of technologies, process configurations and locations, reveals the molecular characteristics of the top-performing sorbents, and provides insights on environmental impacts, co-benefits and trade-offs. By uniting stakeholders at an early research stage, PrISMa accelerates carbon-capture technology development during this critical period as we aim for a net-zero world.

The availability of commercial gravimetric and volumetric systems for the measurement of adsorption equilibrium has seen also a growth of the use of these instruments to measure adsorption kinetics. A review of publications from the past 20 years has been used to assess common practice in 180 cases. There are worrying trends observed, such as lack of information on the actual conditions used in the experiment and the fact that the analysis of the data is often based on models that do not apply to the experimental systems used. To provide guidance to users of these techniques this contribution is divided into two parts: a discussion of the appropriate models to describe diffusion in porous materials is presented for different gravimetric and volumetric systems, followed by a structured discussion of the main trends in common practice uncovered reviewing a large number of recent publications. We conclude with recommendations for best practice to avoid incorrect interpretation of these experiments.

Chiral ruthenium/diamine-functionalized mesoporous silica is synthesized and its application in the one-pot synthesis of chiral β-hydroxy sulfones is investigated.

Reducing CO2 emissions requires urgently deploying large-scale carbon capture technologies, amongst other strategies. The quest for optimum technologies is a multi-objective problem involving various stakeholders. Today's research of these technologies follows a sequential approach, with chemists focusing first on material design and engineers subsequently seeking the optimal process. Eventually, this combination of materials and processes operates at a scale that significantly impacts the economy and the environment. Understanding these impacts requires analyzing factors such as greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the capture plant, which now constitutes one of the final steps. In this work, we present the PrISMa (Process-Informed design of tailor-made Sorbent Materials) platform, which seamlessly connects materials, process design, techno-economics, and life-cycle assessment. We compare over sixty case studies in which CO2 is captured from different sources in five world regions with different technologies. These studies illustrate how the platform simultaneously informs all stakeholders: identifying the cheapest technology and optimal process configuration, revealing the molecular characteristics of top-performing materials, determining the best locations, and informing on environmental impacts, co-benefits, and trade-offs. Our platform brings together all stakeholders at an early stage of research, which is essential to accelerate innovations at a time this is most needed.

Epoxy powders offer a low-cost way of manufacturing thick-section composite parts, such as those found in wind and tidal turbines. Currently, their processing cycle includes a lengthy drying stage (≥15 h) to remove ambient moisture. This drying stage prevents void defect formation and, thereby, a reduction in mechanical properties; however, it constitutes up to 60% of the processing time. Little research has been published which studies the drying stage or its optimisation. In the present work, experimental and simulated analyses are used to investigate the effects of hygroscopicity in epoxy powder composites. Tests are performed to quantify the void content of dried and undried laminates and to measure its impact on transverse flexural strength. Dynamic vapour sorption analysis is used to study the sorption behaviour of the epoxy powder. It is shown that the epoxy powder is slightly hygroscopic (1.36 wt%) and exhibits sorption behaviour that is characteristic of glassy polymers. This results in up to 4.8% voids (by volume) if processed in an undried state, leading to a 43% reduction in transverse flexural strength. A modified linear driving force model is fitted to the desorption data and then implemented in existing process-simulation tools. The drying of a thick epoxy powder composite section is simulated to investigate the influence of powder sintering on the duration of the drying stage. Process simulations reveal that a standard drying cycle prematurely sinters the powder, which inhibits moisture release. By maintaining the powder state, simulations show that the drying cycle can be reduced to 5 h.