Abstract: Carbon capture from industrial emission streams and from air will be needed to reach climate targets over the next century. The current leading approach to carbon capture employs amine-based scrubbers, either as aqueous solutions or amine-functionalized porous solids. The poor oxidative and thermal stability of amines coupled with their large energy footprints contribute to the high costs of carbon capture using these scrubbers. Herein, we will discuss alternative approaches to carbon capture “beyond amines” developed in our laboratory. These include pivoting towards oxygen-based nucleophiles such as hydroxide sites embedded in porous materials as well as tertiary amine N-oxides. We will also discuss how alternative energy inputs such as light can be used to drive carbon capture instead of traditional temperature/pressure swings.

Bio: Phillip Milner is an associate professor of Chemical and Chemical Biology in Cornell A&S at Cornell University. His teaching and research interests lie at the intersection of organic, inorganic, and materials chemistry, with a particular emphasis on reaction mechanisms. The primary goals of his research group include designing new materials and strategies for effecting challenging synthetic transformations, as well as applying the strategies of synthetic and physical organic chemistry to the development of new porous materials with a broad range of potential applications.

This event is presented as part of the 2025 Perspectives on the Climate Change Challenge Seminar Series:

• Most Mondays, Spring Semester 2025, 2:55-4:10 p.m.
• Zoom Link

This university-wide seminar series is open to the public (via Zoom), and provides important views on the critical issue of climate change, drawing from many perspectives and disciplines. Experts from Cornell University and beyond present an overview of the science of climate change and climate change models, the implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and food systems, and provide important economic, ethical, and policy insights on the issue. The seminar is being organized and sponsored by the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering and Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.