Graphene and Other Carbon Sorbents for Selective Adsorption of Thiophene from Liquid Fuel

Four types of carbons (activated carbon, Maxsorb superactivated carbon, mesoporous templated carbon CMK-3, and graphene) were investigated as selective sorbents for adsorption of thiophene from its solution in n-octane. Graphene showed clearly the highest sulfur capacity. The relative sulfur capacities correlated well with the relative heats of adsorption. The carbene-type zigzag edge sites and the carbyne-type armchair edge sites on graphene are among the possible sites for strong interactions with thiophene.