Adsorption of toluene vapours on micro–meso hierarchical porous carbon

Abstract

This work reports the synthesis of micro–meso hierarchical porous carbons prepared with sucrose as a carbon source. With properties characterised, dynamic adsorption performances of toluene on carbons were investigated at various initial concentrations. Results showed that adsorption capacities as high as 687.60 mg/g toluene/1 cm modified carbon can be achieved. Thus, large surface area, large volume of narrow microporosity and proper average pore size are the desired parameters to achieve strong toluene adsorption capacities. Moderate amounts of surface oxygen groups can also improve the adsorbents performance.