| Institution: | 1. Department of Materials Chemistry, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 250 68 Husinec-Řež č.p., 1001 Czech Republic
Department of Environmental Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, Pasteurova 3632/15, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic;2. Department of Materials Chemistry, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 250 68 Husinec-Řež č.p., 1001 Czech Republic;3. Department of NMR Spectroscopy & X-ray and neutron diffraction, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Heyrovského nám. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic |
| Abstract: | The unprecedented co-thermolysis of decaborane(14) (nido-B10H14) and toluene results in a novel porous material (that we have named “activated borane”) containing micropores between 1.0 and 1.5 nm in diameter and a specific surface area of 774 m2 g−1 (Ar, 87 K) that is thermally stable up to 1000 °C. Solid state 1H, 11B and 13C MAS NMR, UV-vis and IR spectroscopies suggest an amorphous structure of borane clusters interconnected by toluene moieties in a ratio of about three toluene molecules for every borane cluster. In addition, the structure contains Lewis-acidic tri-coordinated boron sites giving it some unique properties. Activated borane displays high sorption capacity for pollutants such as sulfamethoxazole, tramadol, diclofenac and bisphenol A that exceed the capacity of commercially-available activated carbon. The consistency in properties for each batch made, and the ease of its synthesis, make activated borane a promising porous material worthy of broad attention. |
