Structure-Property Correlation of Hierarchically Porous Carbons for Fluorocarbon Adsorption

Although traditional commercially available porous carbon-fluorocarbon working pairs have shown promising applicability for adsorption cooling, advancements in engineered carbons may further improve the performance. Moreover, insights into structure-property relationships that target higher sorption capacities within these synthesized carbons may guide such materials' future design. We utilized hierarchically porous carbons (HPCs), synthesized with colossal microporous and mesoporous content characterized by high surface areas (up to 2689 m(2)/g) and pore volume values (up to 10.31 cm(3)/g) toward fluorocarbon R134a adsorption. This unique pore topology leads to exceptional R134a uptake, similar to 250 wt %, outperforming the highest uptake carbon material to date, Maxsorb III (similar to 220 wt %). Material characterizations reveal that the outstanding R134a capacity may be attributed to textural properties and oxygen-terminated functional groups more than graphitization of the material. Most importantly, HPCs are efficiently utilized in a two-bed model chiller device, where the performance shows excellent working capacity (105 wt %, similar to 2 times the value of reported carbon materials/R134a). Fluorocarbon adsorption on HPCs also displays fast kinetics (equilibrium time: similar to 2 min) mainly driven by physical adsorption (Qst: similar to 27 kJ/mol), characteristic of swiftly reversible behavior adsorption-desorption behaviors. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the applicability of HPCs/R134a working pair for adsorption cooling.

Automated summary

Traditional commercially available porous carbon-fluorocarbon working pairs are promising for adsorption cooling, but advancements in engineered carbons can further enhance performance, especially in engineered carbons targeting higher sorption capacities. This study utilized hierarchically porous carbons for fluorocarbon R134a adsorption, showing exceptional uptake and outperforming previous carbon materials. The fast kinetics and reversible adsorption-desorption behaviors of fluorocarbon adsorption on these hierarchically porous carbons demonstrate their potential for adsorption cooling applications.