Bio-inspired peptide membranes for CO capture: a molecular dynamics study of A H and A R interface

Abstract

The increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 demands the development of advanced and sustainable materials for carbon capture. Peptide-based nanostructures have emerged as promising candidates due to their tunable chemistry, biocompatibility, and ability to self-assemble into ordered supramolecular architectures. In this work, we investigate the adsorption behavior of CO2 on self-assembled A6H and A6R peptide membranes through classical molecular dynamics simulations. The A6H and A6R sequences consist of six alanine residues capped by a terminal histidine or arginine residue, respectively, and self-assemble into stable βsheet membrane structures whose surface charge distribution and hydration organization are governed by the nature of the terminal residue. After equilibrating the membranes in an aqueous medium, water molecules were removed, and CO2 was introduced into the simulation box to evaluate gas−surface interactions under idealized gas-phase contact conditions. The results reveal distinct adsorption mechanisms governed by headgroup chemistry: the imidazole-terminated A6H interface exhibits preferential electrostatic and hydrogen-bond-driven interactions with CO2, whereas the guanidinium-terminated A6R membrane, characterized by a higher surface charge density, promotes enhanced electrostatic attraction and a larger number of CO2 binding events. These findings highlight how the chemistry of peptide terminal residues modulates CO2 affinity at ordered, self-assembled membrane interfaces, underscoring the potential of bioinspired peptide membranes as tunable platforms for carbon capture. By focusing on experimentally validated supramolecular architectures rather than peptide aggregates or hybrid systems, this study provides molecular-level insights that can inform the rational design of peptide-based sorbent materials for sustainable CO2 sequestration.