Selective adsorption of BTEX on calixarene-based molecular coordination network determined by 13C NMR spectroscopy

Abstract

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), a class of volatile organic compounds, are harmful pollutants but also very important precursors in organic industrial chemistry. Among different approaches used for the BTEX treatment, the adsorption technology has been recognized as an efficient approach because it allows to recover and reuse both adsorbent and adsorbate. However, the selective adsorption of the components is the key factor for the efficiency of the process. With this view, calixarene-based materials are very promising due to the unique cavity-like structure of the ligand. An unprecedented coordination network based on calixarene of an interesting nanosheet-like morphology was prepared via a solvothermal layer method. This material showed selectivity for non-polar molecules with remarkable uptake of benzene (38.33 mmol/g). In addition, a simple and useful method of BTEX quantification, through 13C NMR spectroscopy, is reported here for the first time.