N-doped mesoporous molecular sieves and their high-efficient adsorption for acetone

With the increase of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions, it is urgent to develop efficient and environmentally friendly adsorption technology for removing these VOCs. In this study, N-doped mesoporous molecular sieve adsorbents were prepared by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, urea and melamine as templates. The addition of urea and melamine improves the periodicity of mesoporous structure, significantly increases the specific surface area, pore size and pore volume, and modifies the surface properties. The adsorption capacity of N-doped mesoporous molecular sieve adsorbent for acetone is increased by 85% than that of pristine mesoporous silica, and more than 91.5% of the initial adsorption capacity is maintained after five adsorption and desorption cycles. The adsorption process is considered as a multilayer adsorption according to Freundlich models. This N-doped mesoporous molecular sieve is expected to an ideal adsorbent for reducing VOCs emission and protecting the environment.

Automated summary

In this study, N-doped mesoporous molecular sieve adsorbents were prepared by using templates of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, urea, and melamine. The addition of urea and melamine improved the periodicity of the mesoporous structure and increased the specific surface area, pore size, and pore volume. The adsorption capacity of the N-doped adsorbent for acetone was significantly higher than that of pristine mesoporous silica, and it maintained a high adsorption capacity after multiple cycles. This N-doped mesoporous molecular sieve shows promise as an ideal adsorbent for reducing VOCs emissions and protecting the environment.