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Nanoparticle organic hybrid materials (NOHMs) have been proposed as excellent electrolytes for combined CO₂capture and electrochemical conversion due to their conductive nature and chemical tunability. However, CO₂capture behavior and transport properties of these electrolytes after CO₂capture have not yet been studied. Here, we use a variety of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to explore the carbon speciation and transport properties of branched polyethylenimine (PEI) and PEI-grafted silica nanoparticles (denoted as NOHM-I-PEI) after CO₂capture. Quantitative¹³C NMR spectra collected at variable temperatures reveal that absorbed CO₂exists as carbamates (RHNCOO⁻or RR′NCOO⁻) and carbonate/bicarbonate (CO₃²⁻/HCO₃⁻). The transport properties of PEI and NOHM-I-PEI studied using¹H pulsed-field-gradient NMR, combined with molecular dynamics simulations, demonstrate that coulombic interactions between negatively and positively charged chains dominate in PEI, while the self-diffusion in NOHM-I-PEI is dominated by silica nanoparticles. These results provide strategies for selecting adsorbed forms of carbon for electrochemical reduction. 

Broadband dielectric spectroscopy, rheology, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are employed to study molecular dynamics in a nanoparticle organic hybrid material (NOHMs) system comprising 20 wt % silica nanoparticles ionically bonded to a polyethylenimine canopy. By comparing the neat polymer (used as a canopy) to the derivative NOHMs, we find that timescales characterizing segmental dynamics in the NOHM are identical to those for the neat polymer. Detailed analysis of the carbon-spin lattice relaxation times yields mechanistic insights into localized and collective dynamics, in quantitative agreement with dielectric results. Interestingly, the NOHMs retain liquid-like characteristics unlike conventional polymer nanocomposites but exhibit higher viscosity due to additional contributions from tethered polymer chains and mesoscopic structuring. These findings demonstrate the potential of achieving unique and desired material properties via NOHMs by an informed choice of the canopy material.