Quantum sieving effect of modified activated carbon fibers on H2 and D2 adsorption at 20 K

Quantum sieving of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) and their fluorides was observed for H(2) and D(2) adsorption at 20 K. Fluorination reduced the slit-shaped pore width of ACFs by 0.2 nm. The activated carbon fibers can act as highly efficient quantum sieves for H(2) and D(2), because the effective size of an H(2) molecule is larger than that of a D(2) molecule due to the uncertainty principle and the molecular size difference between H(2) and D(2) is significant in the micropore space. The D(2)/H(2) selectivity of ACFs evaluated by ideal adsorption solution theory was larger than that of the fluorinated ACFs.