Development of PAN/ZrO₂ Nanocomposite Material with Perovskite CsPbBr₃ Filler As a CO₂ Adsorbent

Abstract

The increasing need for effective CO₂ capture has driven interest in nanofiber-based materials due to their high surface area and tunable structure. This study reports the fabrication and characterization of PAN-based nanofibers incorporated with CsPbBr₃ perovskite and ZrO₂ nanoparticles via electrospinning, aiming to enhance CO₂ adsorption performance. Morphological and structural analyses confirmed that CsPbBr₃ improves adsorption sites, while ZrO₂ enhances thermal and mechanical stability. Kinetic evaluations using Pseudo-First-Order (PFO), Pseudo-Second-Order (PSO), and Intraparticle Diffusion models showed that the PFO model provided the best fit, with AFM–5 achieving the highest adsorption capacity (376.82 mg/g). The adsorption mechanism was identified as predominantly physical (physisorption), supported by significant intraparticle diffusion, particularly in ZrO₂-containing samples. FTIR and BET analysis verified improved structural integrity and functional group interactions. These findings suggest that PAN/ZrO₂/CsPbBr₃ nanofibers are promising candidates for CO₂ capture in direct air capture and industrial gas separation applications.