Cobalt/silica gel system as a chemisorbent for oxygen

A study has been made of oxygen chemisorption and the phase composition of cobalt/silica gel samples containing from 1.1 to 7.7% Co by weight. Reduction in hydrogen leads to the formation of metallic cobalt with a crystal size of about 50 Å. The quantity of chemisorbed O₂ at 20°C increases in proportion to the increase of Co]. The uptake of O₂ is essentially completed at 300°C with the formation of Co₃O₄. The high adsorption capacity for O₂ is preserved unchanged in repetitive reduction-oxidation cycles. The residual content of O₂ in the gas after passage through the layer of the cobalt/silica gel chemisorbent is 3·10^–6% by volume.N. D. Zelinskii Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117913 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya, Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 40–43, January, 1992.