The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Elevated indoor CO₂ levels degrade air quality and impair human performance, underscoring the need for effective sorbents in confined spaces. Amine-based sorbents, particularly those containing poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI), are widely used for CO₂ capture but often suffer from amine loss and poor stability. We prepared hydrogels of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), and PEI, combining the mechanical robustness of PVA‑TEOS with the strong CO₂ affinity of PEI. Samples with varying PEI contents were synthesized to study how amine loading affects CO₂ uptake and material properties. Higher PEI content increased pore volume and changed viscoelastic behavior. The optimized hydrogel showed high CO₂ uptake, indicating that PVA‑TEOS‑PEI hydrogels can be tuned as effective sorbents for indoor CO₂ mitigation.