Laser Treatment Boosts CO₂ Capture Up To 75%

Why this is here: The laser treatment reorganized defects in MOFs, resulting in up to a 94% increase in specific surface area for capturing carbon dioxide.

Hee-jung Lee at Korea Institute of Materials Science led a team that increased carbon dioxide adsorption in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by up to 75% using laser treatment. The researchers in South Korea developed a laser-induced porosity engineering (LIPE) technique to reorganize defects within the MOF structure.

LIPE rapidly heats and cools the material, improving pore uniformity without complex chemical processing. This process reduces larger, less useful pores while creating more micropores that attract CO₂ molecules, increasing both capacity and selectivity. Conventional methods for gas separation, like liquid absorption, often require high energy consumption and are costly.

The team achieved a 94% increase in specific surface area with the treated MOFs. However, the study focuses on laboratory results and does not yet detail scaling this process for industrial use. Further research will explore applying the technology to natural gas purification and eco-friendly energy systems.