Review of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon-Based Adsorbents for CO₂ Capture: Synthesis, Action Mechanism, and Potential

Currently, global warming driven by CO2 emissions is among the major challenges facing the world. It is pushing scientists and engineers to explore new methods for capturing and sequestering of CO2 from industrial flue gas. Given that the concentrations of dust, SO2, and NOX in flue gas have significantly decreased due to the gradual popularization of ultralow emission technology, adsorption separation technology is demonstrating its flexibility and vitality. Utilizing porous carbon materials for capturing CO2 is a highly effective strategy, particularly with ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials, which have an adjustable pore size, large surface area, thick pore wall, and high thermal and hydrothermal stability. This review provides a detailed overview of the synthesis, modification, action mechanism, and current issues associated with OMC material. Additionally, it emphasizes that OMC is a very promising adsorbent material that is anticipated to become a commercial CO2 adsorbent when evaluated for adsorption performance, regeneration capacity, economic and sustainability analysis, and environmental impact. Finally, it outlines the shortcomings of current OMC research and proposes future research directions for OMC while also indicating the development directions and key areas of focus for CO2 adsorbent research.