Adsorption of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) on Oxygen-rich Porous Carbon Materials Obtained from Glucose/Potassium Oxalate

To investigate the effects of oxygen-containing functional groups on the adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with different polarity, oxygen-rich porous carbon materials (OPCs) were synthesized by heat treatment of glucose/potassium oxalate material. The carbon material had a large specific surface area (1697 m(2) g(-1)) and a high oxygen content (18.95 at.%). OPC exhibited high adsorption capacity of toluene (309 mg g(-1)) and methanol (447 mg g(-1)). The specific surface area and total pore volume determined the adsorption capacity of toluene and methanol at the high-pressure range, while the oxygen-containing groups became the main factor affecting the methanol adsorption at the low-pressure range due to the hydrogen bond interaction through the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This study provides an important hint for developing a novel O-doped adsorbent for the VOCs adsorption applications and analyzing the role of oxygen-containing groups in the VOCs adsorption under the low-pressure range.

Automated summary

By synthesizing oxygen-rich porous carbon materials, the study investigated the effects of oxygen-containing functional groups on the adsorption of VOCs with different polarities. The results indicated that surface area and pore volume determined the adsorption capacity at high pressures, while oxygen-containing groups played a major role in methanol adsorption at low pressures through hydrogen bond interactions.