Department of Chemistry
C2 280
200 University Ave. W
Waterloo, Ontario,
Canada N2L 3G1
Phone: (519) 888-4567 ext 32129
Fax: (519) 746-0435
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 — 10:30 AM EST
Nanoporous materials for adsorption and catalysis
Prof. Abdelhamid Sayari
Department of Chemistry
University of Ottawa
Wednesday, December5, 2012
10:30 a.m.
C2-361 (Reading Room)
Abstract: Pore-expanded MCM-41 (PE-MCM-41) silica exhibits a unique combination of high specific surface area, and unusually large pore size and pore volume. It offers unlimited opportunities for surface modifications with potential applications in adsorption/separation and catalysis. Examples will be presented and discussed.
Incorporation of amine groups using an optimized grafting methodology gave rise to outstanding adsorbents for acid gases, particularly CO2. In this talk the following issues will be addressed: (i) importance of the pore size/pore volume, (ii) optimization of grafting conditions, (iii) CO2 adsorption capacity and rate, (iv) tolerance to moisture in the feed, (v) selectivity toward CO2 vs. other adsorbates such as N2, O2, H2, CH4, H2S, and SO2 and (vi) adsorption-desorption cycling, (vii) stability in the presence of moisture, (viii) oxidative degradation, and (ix) dry CO2-induced deactivation and mitigation thereof. The effect of the pore length and surface hydrophobicity on diffusion resistance will also be demonstrated.