Selective adsorption and efficient regeneration via smart adsorbents possessing thermo-controlled molecular switches

Adsorption and desorption are equally important in an adsorptive separation process, while conventional adsorbents with fixed pores benefit only one of them rather than both. Here, a new generation of adsorbents was fabricated by incorporating thermo-responsive polymers (TRPs) into pores. The TRPs act as molecular switches, making pore spaces and active sites responsive to adsorption/desorption conditions. The adsorbents can thus realize both selective adsorption and efficient desorption, which are extremely desirable for adsorptive separation.