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Title: An ab initio free energy study of the reaction mechanism and rate-limiting steps of CO2 capture by aqueous glycine

Journal Article · · Cell Reports Physical Science

Aqueous amino acids are promising absorbents for direct air capture (DAC) of CO2. Herein, we investigate the possibility of kinetic control of CO2 absorption with aqueous anionic glycine (GLY-) by employing extensive ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, free energy analysis, and reaction rate theory. We find that first GLY- binds to CO2 by overcoming a barrier (7.4 kcal/mol) to form a zwitterion intermediate, which then releases a proton by overcoming a similar barrier. Despite the similarity in the barrier, zwitterion formation appears to be the rate-limiting step because it is two orders of magnitude slower (microseconds) than the proton release step. This is predominantly due to stronger nonequilibrium solvent effects for the former that cause many barrier-recrossing events and effectively slow down the reaction rate. Such a detailed fundamental understanding of the amino acid-based CO2-absorption mechanism and rates is key to improving the kinetic efficiency of DAC technology.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
2224196
Journal Information:
Cell Reports Physical Science, Journal Name: Cell Reports Physical Science Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 4; ISSN 2666-3864
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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