Moisture-Powered Tech Boosts CO₂ Air Cleaning Efficiency

ASU researchers examine materials that capture CO₂ using changes in humidity for low-energy direct air capture.

Mar. 10, 2026 at 8:20am

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Researchers at Arizona State University have taken an important step toward improving technologies that pull carbon dioxide directly from the air. The team closely examined two promising materials that can capture CO₂ using changes in humidity, a low‑energy process known as "moisture‑swing" direct air capture (DAC). The study provides insight into how these materials work during CO₂ capture and highlights the important role of moisture, which could help researchers design more energy-efficient materials for carbon capture in the future.

Why it matters

Over the past century, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased dramatically, contributing to global warming and many harmful effects. Direct air capture technologies that can remove CO₂ directly from the air are considered essential for tackling climate change, and this research aims to improve the efficiency of these moisture-driven capture methods.

The details

The team, led by Petra Fromme, a professor at ASU's School of Molecular Sciences, closely examined two commercially available polymers, Fumasep FAA-3 and IRA-900, to see how well they work for low-energy carbon capture using moisture-driven direct air capture (DAC). Researchers used various imaging and X-ray techniques to examine the materials' structures at different scales and ran experiments measuring how much CO₂ and water the materials adsorbed and released under different humidity levels. The results showed that the material with larger pores, IRA-900, captured more CO₂ and did so more quickly, with the study providing insights into how structural features like pores, clustering, and swelling influence the materials' performance.

  • The study was published on March 10, 2026.

The players

Petra Fromme

A professor in ASU's School of Molecular Sciences and the Director of the Biodesign Institute's Center for Applied Structural Discovery.

Gayathri Yogaganeshan

The first author on the paper and Fromme's doctoral student.

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What they’re saying

“This work is so important as it shows for the first time the structural characterization of two direct air capture materials with a unique combination of techniques ranging from X-ray diffraction to electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy which we combined with functional studies on the moisture swing mechanisms of carbon dioxide binding and release.”

— Petra Fromme, Professor, ASU School of Molecular Sciences

“Our research addresses the urgent challenge of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by investigating materials for low-energy, moisture-driven direct air capture.”

— Gayathri Yogaganeshan, Doctoral Student, ASU School of Molecular Sciences

What’s next

The researchers plan to continue exploring ways to design more energy-efficient materials for scalable carbon dioxide removal using moisture-driven direct air capture technologies.

The takeaway

This study provides valuable insights into the structural features and moisture-driven mechanisms of materials used in direct air capture, which could help advance practical and energy-efficient carbon capture technologies to address the urgent challenge of reducing atmospheric CO₂ levels.