Dendritic silver self-assembly in molten-carbonate membranes for efficient carbon dioxide capture

In this work, the dendritic growth of silver within a supported molten-salt membrane was exploited to produce membranes with unparalleled carbon dioxide flux. Dendritic growth was evidenced using X-ray micro-CT and conductivity measurements. Multiple pore tubular membranes were fabricated, as well as randomly porous membranes. In both geometries, silver dendritic growth occurred and resulted in enhanced flux. A selection of the membranes provided agenda-setting carbon dioxide fluxes, and approached or bettered the permeance, selectivity and permeability requirements for economically-competitive carbon dioxide capture.