Chemistry Seminar Series: Prof. Abdelhamid Sayari

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.