CH(4) storage and CO(2) capture in highly porous zirconium oxide based metal-organic frameworks

A series of porous Zr oxoclusters-based MOFs was computationally explored for their gas storage/capture performances. The highly porous UiO-67(Zr) and UiO-68(Zr) solids show exceptionally high CH(4) and CO(2) adsorption capacities under operating conditions that make these thermal, water and mechanical resistant materials very promising for physisorption-based processes.     

Calculation of Adsorption Isotherms on Hard Solid Surfaces Using Measurements of Surface Tensions and Contact Angles

The adsorption excess isotherms of binary mixtures adsorbed on hard solids were calculated by means of surface tension and contact angle measurements using the Gibbs adsorption isotherm equation. The calculation procedure is described in detail using the authors' own measurements of mixtures containing ethylene glycol(1)/water(2) on Teflon and poly(vinyl chloride), and water(1)/n-propanol(2) on Teflon. On the basis of these results and also from surface tensions and contact angles on hard solids published by other authors, all types of isotherms were found as given for porous adsorbents in the classification of Schay and Nagy. In addition to those, new isotherm types are proposed.     

Characterization of the hydrophobicity of mesoporous silicas and clays with silica pillars by water adsorption and DRIFT

The hydrophobic-hydrophilic properties of a solid are related to the material chemistry and, often, these properties are relevant to the applications of a particular material. Contrarily to what happens with other properties, such as specific surface areas or pore volumes, the methodologies to ascertain on the hydrophilicity of a porous material are not well defined. In this work, we discuss and relate the information on the hydrophobicity degree obtained from water adsorption isotherms and from diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT), in a set of porous materials. The studied materials were mainly mesoporous solids, namely of MCM-41 and SBA-15 types, two xerogels and also different porous clays heterostructures. Both techniques were informative on the hydrophobic-hydrophilic properties of the studied samples, but the correlation between the information obtained by each technique was not straightforward. Water adsorption isotherms are much more sensitive to the differences of the studied materials than the DRIFT spectra. For silica-based mesoporous materials with similar surface chemistry, the water adsorption process and hence, the hydrophobic-hydrophilic properties, is mainly dependent on the pore diameters. However, water adsorption is much more sensitive to changes in the nature of the adsorbent surface than to changes in the pore diameter.     

Supercritical hydrogen adsorption in nanostructured solids with hydrogen density variation in pores

Experimental excess isotherms for the adsorption of gases in porous solids may be represented by mathematical models that incorporate the total amount of gas within a pore, a quantity which cannot easily be found experimentally but which is important for calculations for many applications, including adsorptive storage. A model that is currently used for hydrogen adsorption in porous solids has been improved to include a more realistic density profile of the gas within the pore, and allows calculation of the total amount of adsorbent. A comparison has been made between different Type I isotherm equations embedded in the model, by examining the quality of the fits to hydrogen isotherms for six different nanoporous materials. A new Type I isotherm equation which has not previously been reported in the literature, the Unilan-b equation, has been derived and has also been included in this comparison study. These results indicate that while some Type I isotherm equations fit certain types of materials better than others, the T?th equation produces the best overall quality of fit and also provides realistic parameter values when used to analyse hydrogen sorption data for a model carbon adsorbent.     

金属有机框架MIL-101(Fe)对水中微囊藻毒素-LR的吸附

通过溶剂热法制备了性质稳定的金属有机框架材料MIL-101(Fe),并用于吸附去除水中的微囊藻毒素-LR。采用电子显微镜、傅立叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、Zeta电位和N_2吸附-脱附等方法对制备的纳米材料进行了表征。MIL-101(Fe)具有多孔结构和较高的比表面积(375.2 m~2/g),尺寸约为500 nm。考察了pH值、离子强度、温度、吸附时间、浓度等参数对吸附剂吸附能力的影响。结果表明,静电作用和配位作用是主要的作用机理。MIL-101(Fe)对微囊藻毒素-LR的吸附速度很快(20 min内达到吸附平衡),吸附过程符合准二级动力学模型;MIL-101(Fe)对微囊藻毒素-LR表现出良好的吸附性能,其最大吸附量为256.4 mg/g。溶液中存在的腐植酸对MIL-101(Fe)的吸附性能产生一定的影响。受腐殖酸、盐类的影响,相同条件下MIL-101(Fe)对江水中微囊藻毒素-LR的吸附性能有所下降,但仍可达到68.1 mg/g。因此,该方法简便、高效,适用于快速除去污染水体中的微囊藻毒素-LR。     

Synergistic effect of water layer and divalent metal ions in a model oil sand on bitumen liberation from solids surface

In this work, we offer a direct evidence to illustrate the synergistic effect of water layer and divalent metal ions in oil sands on bitumen liberation from solids surface. A model oil sand was constructed by coating bitumen on the glass surface with a water layer containing divalent metal ions inserted between them. The bitumen liberation behaviors were investigated by placing the model oil sands in various pH solutions. It was found that the water layer facilitated the bitumen liberation, while the presence of Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺ in the water layer played a different role on the bitumen liberation depending on the solution pH. It was believed that the variation of the bitumen liberation was attributed to the changes of surface wettability arising from the adsorption of natural surfactants on the solids and bitumen surfaces. The preferential adsorption of Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺ on the solids and bitumen surfaces acted as either a barrier to disturb the cationic surfactants adsorbing or a bridge to anchor the anionic surfactants. The findings in this work are important for understanding the bitumen liberation behaviors and give a guideline of how controlling the water chemistry when processing the oil sands by water-based bitumen extraction processes.     

Hybrid porous solids: past, present, future

This critical review will be of interest to the experts in porous solids (including catalysis), but also solid state chemists and physicists. It presents the state-of-the-art on hybrid porous solids, their advantages, their new routes of synthesis, the structural concepts useful for their 'design', aiming at reaching very large pores. Their dynamic properties and the possibility of predicting their structure are described. The large tunability of the pore size leads to unprecedented properties and applications. They concern adsorption of species, storage and delivery and the physical properties of the dense phases. (323 references)     

Recent advances of application of porous molecular cages for enantioselective recognition and separation

Porous materials with well‐defined pore structures have received considerable attention in the past decades due to their unique structures and wide applications. Most porous materials such as zeolites, metal‐organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, and porous organic polymers are extended to infinite frameworks or networks by robust covalent or coordination bonds. Porous molecular cages composed of discrete molecules with permanent cavities are an emerging class of porous material and the discrete molecules assemble into solids by weak intermolecular interaction. In comparison to porous extended solids such as metal‐organic frameworks and covalent organic frameworks, porous molecular cage solids are generally soluble in organic solvents thus allowing solution processing, making them more convenient to apply in many fields. This review mainly focuses on the recent advances of application of porous molecular cages (porous organic cages and metal‐organic cages) for enantioselective recognition and separation from 2010 to present, including gas chromatography, capillary electrochromatography, chiral fluorescent recognition, chiral potentiometric sensing, and enantioselective adsorption. Furthermore, the two important family members of porous molecular cages, porous organic cages and metal‐organic cages, are also discussed.     

Composite Material that Comprised Metal–Organic Nanotubes and a Sponge as a High‐Performance Adsorbent for the Extraction of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products from Environmental Water Samples

A composite material that comprised metal–organic nanotubes (MONTs) and a sponge, Cu?MONTs?sponge, was synthesized by using a rapid and convenient surfactant‐assisted dip‐coating method and used as a high‐performance adsorbent for the solid‐phase extraction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP) from environmental water samples. By adjusting the surfactant concentration, a composite material that contained metal–organic nanotubes and a macroporous 3D porous sponge was constructed. This modified sponge achieved outstanding reproducibility as an adsorbent, with the adsorption of trace or ultratrace amounts of contaminants. Moreover, this composite material was conveniently recycled and its extraction efficiency only decreased by 6.3–12.1 % after 30 adsorption/desorption cycles. The resulting composite exhibited excellent adsorption capacity for PPCPs, which was attributed to its unique porous structure, natural hydrophobicity, and electrostatic interactions between the metal–organic nanotubes and analyte molecules. This Cu?MONTs?sponge material is an ideal adsorbent for the extraction of trace amounts of PPCPs from environmental water samples.     

The hydrophobicity of non-aqueous liquids and their dispersion in water under degassed conditions

Several recent studies have shown that many oils, such as hydrocarbons, fluorocarbons, silicone and natural oils, are more readily dispersed as fine (micron-sized) droplets in water when the mixtures are almost completely degassed. These observations have not yet been fully explained and so this paper examines the nature of hydrophobicity of a wide range of oils and considers both the cavitation process and the surface charging expected during the separation of hydrophobic materials in water. Cavitation inside porous hydrophobic solids immersed in water is also considered. We also introduce a quick, easy and alternative method to freeze–thaw degassing, by which enhanced dispersions can be formed, which gives further support to the central role of degassing.     

Gas storage in nanoporous materials

Gas storage in solids is becoming an ever more important technology, with applications and potential applications ranging from energy and the environment all the way to biology and medicine. Very highly porous materials, such as zeolites, carbon materials, polymers, and metal-organic frameworks, offer a wide variety of chemical composition and structural architectures that are suitable for the adsorption and storage of many different gases, including hydrogen, methane, nitric oxide, and carbon dioxide. However, the challenges associated with designing materials to have sufficient adsorption capacity, controllable delivery rates, suitable lifetimes, and recharging characteristics are not trivial in many instances. The different chemistry associated with the various gases of interest makes it necessary to carefully match the properties of the porous material to the required application.     

Porous graphene oxide-based carbon artefact with high capacity for methylene blue adsorption

A three-dimensional porous graphene oxide (PGO) material prepared by hydrothermal method was selected to adsorb methylene blue (MB), which demonstrates a high MB adsorption capacity, up to 1100 mg g^?1 in alkaline solution at room temperature. The influences of different pore structures and different contents of oxygen-containing functional groups on MB adsorption behaviors were studied in detail, which indicated that the high MB adsorption capacity is mainly ascribed to the synergistic effect of the large number of oxygen-containing functional groups and the interconnected 3D porous network. Moreover, based on the investigation on the adsorption kinetics and the effect of pH value on MB adsorption, we propose a two-step adsorption kinetics for PGO, which involved in two interactions between MB molecular and porous graphene oxide-based carbon: electrostatic force and π-π stacking. Besides, the calculation of the activation energies indicates that chemisorption dominates the adsorption for PGO in comparison with physisorption for three-dimensional porous graphene materials which has low adsorption capacity because of the removal of functional groups. The results are of great significance for the design and environmental applications of PGO as a promising adsorbent material for water purification.     

Physical adsorption of gases: the case for absolute adsorption as the basis for thermodynamic analysis

We discuss the thermodynamics of physical adsorption of gases in porous solids. The measurement of the amount of gas adsorbed in a solid requires specialized volumetric and gravimetric techniques based upon the concept of the surface excess. Excess adsorption isotherms provide thermodynamic information about the gas-solid system but are difficult to interpret at high pressure because of peculiarities such as intersecting isotherms. Quantities such as pore density and heats of adsorption are undefined for excess isotherms at high pressure. These difficulties vanish when excess isotherms are converted to absolute adsorption. Using the proper definitions, the special features of adsorption can be incorporated into a rigorous framework of solution thermodynamics. Practical applications including mixed-gas equilibria, equations for adsorption isotherms, and methods for calculating thermodynamic properties are covered. The primary limitations of the absolute adsorption formalism arise from the need to estimate pore volumes and in the application to systems with larger mesopores or macropores at high bulk pressures and temperatures where the thermodynamic properties may be dominated by contributions from the bulk fluid. Under these circumstances a rigorous treatment of the thermodynamics requires consideration of the adsorption cell and its contents (bulk gas, porous solid and confined fluid).     

On the physical adsorption of gases on carbon materials from molecular simulation

In this paper we present a series of work covering a range of aspects relating molecular simulation to experiment. The importance of surface mediation type effects to the adsorption of simple and complex gases is demonstrated. Coupled with the adsorption of simple gases is their projection area when used for surface area determination. The pressure dependence of a projection area is demonstrated for argon at 77 and 87.3 K. A simple model is used to account for the degree of graphitisation of a surface is demonstrated and used to account for the isosteric heat behaviour of non-graphitised carbon blacks. Turning from surfaces to porous solids, an alternative treatment of experiment data (either sub or super critical) is presented that avoids the ambiguity of excess amounts adsorbed. Using this method one is able to obtain pore size distributions and amounts adsorbed without relying on such things as helium expansion volumes. Since this type of method is usually applied to composite solids we also demonstrate the correct method for calculating the heat of adsorption using independent sets of simulations. The final topic covered in this paper is an example of the information that can be gained from the heat capacity of an adsorbed phase.     

Estimation of diffusion parameters in functionalized silicas with modulated porosity. Part I: chromatographic studies

The diffusion parameters of binary gas mixture He (tracer gas)-N2 (carrier gas) in hybrid organic-inorganic SiO2-X porous solids which have suffered gradual functionalization with functional groups X of increasing length (X = psi, [triple bond]Si-H, [triple bond]Si-CH2OH, [triple bond]Si-(CH2)3OH, [triple bond]Si-(CH2)11CH3) are reported. The effective diffusivities Deff, the Henry law constants K as well as the tortuosity factors tau for the examined solids were estimated by a typical pulse gas chromatographic method. Analysis of the experimental results was carried out by the well-known method of linearization of moments. The moments s analysis provides a powerful means for extracting diffusion parameters from the experimental response curves The proposed methodology is simple compared to other similar studies and provides rapidly reliable data. The results of this work indicate that the effective diffusivity Deff in porous networks drops markedly as the initial porosity of the parent SiO2 sample is blocked by the functionalization of the pore surfaces with functional groups of increasing size, [triple bond]Si-H, [triple bond]Si-CH2OH, [triple bond]Si-(CH2)3OH and [triple bond]Si-(CH2)11CH3. The low values of the Henry law constants K found indicate that the adsorption of He on the porous surfaces for all the solids is weak. Also, the tortuosity factor r is proportionally correlated to the pore blocking effects and the percolation phenomena of gases flowing into the porous network.     

Fine pore mouth structure of molecular sieve carbon with GCMC-assisted supercritical gas adsorption analysis

N₂ adsorption isotherms of molecular sieve carbon were measured at 77 K and 303 K. The Ar adsorption isotherms of molecular sieve carbon samples were also measured at 303 K. The grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation technique was applied to calculate the N₂ and Ar adsorption isotherms at 303 K using the ultramicropore volume determined by H₂O adsorption. The comparative method of experimental and simulated isotherms of supercritical N₂ and Ar at 303 K gave the width of the micropore mouth of the molecular sieve carbon, which can be applied to the ultramicropore width determination for other noncrystalline porous solids.     

Adsorption systems at temperatures below the freezing point of the adsorptive

Isothermal adsorption studies and the measurement of dimensional changes below the bulk freezing point of the adsorbate indicate that substances adsorbed in porous solids are unable to freeze in situ. The difference between the vapour pressure or free energy of the unfrozen adsorbate and that of the bulk adsorptive outside of the porous system is resolved by a desorption process; the desorbed matter freezes outside of the system while the vapour pressure of the adsorbate remaining in the pores decreases through meniscus formation. Mechanical breakdown of the system occurs only then, when this process cannot be completed and an equilibrium state is not attained.This mechanism was found to be valid for porous silica glass, hydrated cement paste, bricks, and even for biological substances such as animal and plant tissue, and foodstuff. This understanding has led to the development of new methods for testing the durability of building materials, clarification of some problems of the BET surface area determination method and it suggests an explanation for the action of cryoprotective agents.     

固体表面能色散成分的测定

Tamai, Hamilton, Carre等曾通过测量烷烃-水双液参照体系在固体表面的接触角,采用基于界面非色散成份的均方关系, 计算了高表面能固体的表面能色散成份(γs^d)及非色散成份(γs^p), 对此计算方法, Fowkes曾给予批评, 提出界面能的非色散成份主要来源于酸碱配位作用, 基于非色散成份均方关系的计算不能正确反映实际情况, 本研究改进了由双液法接触角值计算γs^d值的方法。     

Adsorption-based characterization of hierarchical metal–organic frameworks

Nitrogen adsorption at 77 K on metal–organic framework (MOF) is investigated by means of molecular simulations. We consider both regular Cu–BTC crystal and a MOF-based hierarchical porous solid consisting of a mesopore carved out of a Cu–BTC crystal. The t-plot method is applied to these solids by using a non-porous Cu–BTC surface as the reference sample. The values of the mesoporous and external surface areas are determined from the t-plot, and the validity of the method for this type of hierarchical solid is discussed.