Abstract
The effect of cationic template on the adsorption of aromatic compounds in MCM-41 was investigated in the present work. Various MCM-41 samples were prepared through controlling template removal during the synthesis of MCM-41 materials in which cationic surfactant was used as a template. The properties of synthesized samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption, FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis etc. The adsorption equilibriums of toluene, cumene and water on MCM-41 samples were measured using a digital microbalance. Compared with parent MCM-41 with template removed completely (denoted as MCM-41), the samples with template partially removed (denoted as C-MCM-41) exhibited moderate adsorption capacity for aromatic compounds. However, the adsorption equilibrium of water showed that the hydrophobicity on the surface of C-MCM-41 was significantly enhanced. The combination of moderate adsorption capacity for aromatics and hydrophobicity for water is desirable for the applications including removal of VOCs. It was found that the adsorption behaviors of aromatic compounds and water in various MCM-41 samples were governed by both porosity and cationic spots generated by cationic templates; and the former played a more important role than the latter when aromatics were adsorbed. The porosity and cation density of the MCM-41 material can be tailored by controlling the removal of the cationic template from the pore structure. The influence of template extraction methods on the structure and adsorption properties of MCM-41 materials has also been addressed.
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