Effects of micropore size of activated carbon fibers prepared by steam activation on toluene adsorption

IF 6.2 3区材料科学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Carbon Letters Pub Date : 2026-06-01 DOI:10.1007/s42823-026-01081-y

Hae-Reum Shin, Dong-Jun Kwon, Man-Tae Kim

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Abstract

Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) are highly effective adsorbents for gas separation, water purification, and hazardous gas removal owing to their substantial specific surface area and adjustable pore structure. This study investigated how the pore size of ACFs influenced the adsorption of toluene, a volatile organic compound (VOC). To modulate the pore size, ACFs were synthesized at various steam flow rates during steam activation. All samples demonstrated adsorption efficiencies exceeding 99%, with a maximum capacity of 0.418 g/g, but micropores within the 0.65 to 0.85 nm range proved most effective. Among the samples, ACF0.8 showed the highest adsorption capacity and the longest breakthrough time. Correlation analysis revealed a positive trend between toluene uptake and total ultramicropore volume (R² = 0.84), whereas the 0.65–0.85 nm pore range exhibited a significantly closer association with adsorption capacity (R² = 0.98). These results indicate that controlling the steam flow is a viable strategy for optimizing micropore characteristics, offering practical design guidelines for the development of high-performance ACF-based VOC adsorbents.

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蒸汽活化活性炭纤维微孔尺寸对甲苯吸附性能的影响

活性炭纤维（ACFs）由于其巨大的比表面积和可调节的孔隙结构，是气体分离、水净化和有害气体去除的高效吸附剂。本研究考察了活性炭纤维的孔径对挥发性有机化合物（VOC）甲苯吸附性能的影响。为了调节孔径，在蒸汽活化过程中，以不同的蒸汽流量合成了ACFs。所有样品的吸附效率均超过99%，最大吸附量为0.418 g/g，但在0.65 ~ 0.85 nm范围内的微孔是最有效的。其中ACF0.8的吸附量最大，突破时间最长。相关分析表明，甲苯吸收量与总超微孔体积呈显著正相关（R²= 0.84），而0.65 ~ 0.85 nm孔径范围与吸附量呈显著正相关（R²= 0.98）。这些结果表明，控制蒸汽流量是优化微孔特性的可行策略，为开发高性能acf基VOC吸附剂提供了实用的设计指导。

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来源期刊

Carbon Letters CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

20.00%

发文量

118

期刊介绍： Carbon Letters aims to be a comprehensive journal with complete coverage of carbon materials and carbon-rich molecules. These materials range from, but are not limited to, diamond and graphite through chars, semicokes, mesophase substances, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, graphenes, carbon blacks, activated carbons, pyrolytic carbons, glass-like carbons, etc. Papers on the secondary production of new carbon and composite materials from the above mentioned various carbons are within the scope of the journal. Papers on organic substances, including coals, will be considered only if the research has close relation to the resulting carbon materials. Carbon Letters also seeks to keep abreast of new developments in their specialist fields and to unite in finding alternative energy solutions to current issues such as the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer. The renewable energy basics, energy storage and conversion, solar energy, wind energy, water energy, nuclear energy, biomass energy, hydrogen production technology, and other clean energy technologies are also within the scope of the journal. Carbon Letters invites original reports of fundamental research in all branches of the theory and practice of carbon science and technology.