Nitrogen-Doped Coal Tar Pitch Based Microporous Carbons with Superior CO₂ Capture Performance

Coal tar pitch based nitrogen-doped porous carbons were developed by FeCl₃ activation for enhanced CO₂ capture. The carbon materials, synthesized with different FeCl₃/carbon precursor mass ratios and activation temperatures, exhibit high porosity, especially microporosity, and nitrogen species contents, leading to superior CO₂ adsorption capacities in the range of 3.71–4.58 mmol g^–1 and 5.68–7.18 mmol g^–1 at 25 and 0 °C under 1 bar, respectively. In particular, N-AC-600-2 and N-AC-600-3 materials show the highest uptakes of CO₂ at 25 and 0 °C, respectively, which rank among the best porous carbon sorbents. The nitrogen-doping and porosity of the fabricated carbons have combined impact on CO₂ adsorption. In addition, both excellent regenerability and high CO₂/N₂ selectivity were achieved, making these carbon materials promising candidates for large-scale CO₂ adsorption