Effect of pore size distribution of commercial activated carbon fabrics on the adsorption of CWA simulants from the liquid phase

The use of hydrofluoroether liquid wetted wipes for the decontamination of sensitive equipment is attracting great interest. Contacting the contaminated equipment with such wipes results in the rapid removal of surface contaminants. Because adsorption from the liquid phase involves larger molecules than those found in the gas phase, the pores in the activated carbon needed to capture contaminants require pores with diameters above the micropore range (diameters < 2 nm). In this work, the effects of the specific surface area (900-1300 m(2)/g), the total pore volume (0.40-0.70 cm(3)/g), and the pore size distribution (mean pore diameter ranged from < 0.1 to 2.9 nm) of commercially available activated carbon fabrics (ACF) on the removal of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide, a chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulant, from solution in hydrofluoroethers were examined. The highest adsorption loadings were obtained with the ACF with a mean pore diameter of 2.9 nm.