Thermodynamics of adsorption of acetone on active carbon supported metal adsorbents

Adsorption of acetone on active carbon and active carbon supported metals (Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd) have been studied as a function of temperature. Thermodynamic parameters such as G ⁰, H ⁰, and S ⁰ are calculated from virial and Langmuir isotherm expressions. It is observed that active carbon supported metals have more adsorption affinity for acetone as compared to active carbon. Results show that the increase in adsorption affinity for active carbon supported metals is not due to configurational factors affecting the entropy of adsorption, but because of enhanced enthalpy of adsorption. XRD spectra show that active carbon supported metals adsorbents are amorphous and metal residues are present on the surface of active carbon in its reduced form. From adsorption data, isosteric heats and molar entropies of adsorption were calculated as a function of coverages and temperature. The values of isosteric heats of adsorption were found to be higher for active carbon supported metals, which may be due to the chemisorption of adsorbate molecules with metal sites present on the surface of active carbon. The extent of coordination of adsorbate molecules with metal sites is discussed on the basis of the acidic character of metal.