scholarly journals Characterization of Modified Natural Minerals and Rocks for Possible Adsorption and Catalytic Use

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 4989
Author(s):  
Kateřina Strejcová ◽  
Zdeněk Tišler ◽  
Eliška Svobodová ◽  
Romana Velvarská

This study focused on natural materials such as clinoptilolite (CLI), metakaolin (MK), marlstone (MRL) and phonolite (PH). Clinoptilolite is one of the most known and common natural minerals (zeolites) with a unique porous structure, metakaolin is calcined kaolin clay, marlstone is a sedimentary rock and phonolite is an igneous rock composed of alkali feldspar and other minerals. These natural materials are mainly used in the building industry (additions for concrete mixtures, production of paving, gravels) or for water purification, but the modification of their chemical, textural and mechanical properties makes these materials potentially usable in other industries, especially in the chemical industry. The modification of these natural materials and rocks was carried out by leaching using 0.1 M HCl (D1 samples) and then using 3 M HCl (D2 samples). This treatment could be an effective tool to modify the structure and composition of these materials. Properties of modified materials were determined by N2 physisorption, Hg porosimetry, temperature programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) and CO2 adsorption using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results of N2 physisorption measurements showed that that the largest increase of specific surface area was for clinoptilolite leached using 3M HCl. There was also a significant increase of the micropore volume in the D2 samples. The only exception was marlstone, where the volume of micropores was zero even in the leached sample. Clinoptilolite had the highest acidity and sorption capacity of CO2. TGA showed that the amount of CO2 adsorbed was not significantly related to the increase in specific surface area and the opening of micropores. Hg porosimetry showed that acid leaching using 0.1 M HCl and 3 M HCl resulted in a significant increase in the macropore volume in phonolite, and during leaching using 3M HCl there was an increase of the mesopore volume. From the better properties, cost-efficient and environmental points of view, the use of these materials could be an interesting solution for catalytic and sorption applications.

2015 ◽  
Vol 749 ◽  
pp. 17-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Sreńscek Nazzal ◽  
Karolina Glonek ◽  
Jacek Młodzik ◽  
Urszula Narkiewicz ◽  
Antoni W. Morawski ◽  
...  

Microporous carbons prepared from commercial activated carbon WG12 by KOH and/or ZnCl2 treatment were examined as adsorbents for CO2 capture. The micropore volume and specific surface area of the resulting carbons varied from 0.52 cm3/g (1374 m2/g) to 0.70 cm3/g (1800 m2/g), respectively. The obtained microporous carbon materials showed high CO2 adsorption capacities at 40 bar pressure reaching 16.4 mmol/g.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1230
Author(s):  
Fabien Léonard ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Holger Krebs ◽  
Giovanni Bruno

The mixture of ammonium nitrate (AN) prills and fuel oil (FO), usually referred to as ANFO, is extensively used in the mining industry as a bulk explosive. One of the major performance predictors of ANFO mixtures is the fuel oil retention, which is itself governed by the complex pore structure of the AN prills. In this study, we present how X-ray computed tomography (XCT), and the associated advanced data processing workflow, can be used to fully characterise the structure and morphology of AN prills. We show that structural parameters such as volume fraction of the different phases and morphological parameters such as specific surface area and shape factor can be reliably extracted from the XCT data, and that there is a good agreement with the measured oil retention values. Importantly, oil retention measurements (qualifying the efficiency of ANFO as explosives) correlate well with the specific surface area determined by XCT. XCT can therefore be employed non-destructively; it can accurately evaluate and characterise porosity in ammonium nitrate prills, and even predict their efficiency.


Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav V. Rodaev ◽  
Svetlana S. Razlivalova ◽  
Andrey O. Zhigachev ◽  
Vladimir M. Vasyukov ◽  
Yuri I. Golovin

For the first time, zirconia nanofibers with an average diameter of about 75 nm have been fabricated by calcination of electrospun zirconium acetylacetonate/polyacrylonitrile fibers in the range of 500–1100 °C. Composite and ceramic filaments have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen adsorption analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. The stages of the transition of zirconium acetylacetonate to zirconia have been revealed. It has been found out that a rise in calcination temperature from 500 to 1100 °C induces transformation of mesoporous tetragonal zirconia nanofibers with a high specific surface area (102.3 m2/g) to non-porous monoclinic zirconia nanofibers of almost the same diameter with a low value of specific surface area (8.3 m2/g). The tetragonal zirconia nanofibers with high specific surface area prepared at 500 °C can be considered, for instance, as promising supports for heterogeneous catalysts, enhancing their activity.


2011 ◽  
Vol 403-408 ◽  
pp. 1205-1210
Author(s):  
Jaleh Babak ◽  
Ashrafi Ghazaleh ◽  
Gholami Nasim ◽  
Azizian Saeid ◽  
Golbedaghi Reza ◽  
...  

In this work ZnO nanocrystal powders have been synthesized by using Zinc acetate dehydrate as a precursor and sol-gel method. Then the products have been annealed at temperature of 200-1050°C, for 2 hours. The powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The morphology of refrence ZnO nanoparticles have been studied using Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). During the annealing process, increase in nanocrystal size, defects and energy gap quantitative, and decrease in specific surface area have been observed.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2527
Author(s):  
Tingting Niu ◽  
Bin Zhou ◽  
Zehui Zhang ◽  
Xiujie Ji ◽  
Jianming Yang ◽  
...  

Resorcinol-formaldehyde/titanium dioxide composite (RF/TiO2) gel was prepared simultaneously by acid catalysis and then dried to aerogel with supercritical fluid CO2. The carbon/titanium dioxide aerogel was obtained by carbonization and then converted to nanoporous titanium carbide/carbon composite aerogel via 800 °C magnesiothermic catalysis. Meanwhile, the evolution of the samples in different stages was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), an energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and specific surface area analysis (BET). The results showed that the final product was nanoporous TiC/C composite aerogel with a low apparent density of 339.5 mg/cm3 and a high specific surface area of 459.5 m2/g. Comparing to C aerogel, it could also be considered as one type of highly potential material with efficient photothermal conversion. The idea of converting oxide–carbon composite into titanium carbide via the confining template and low-temperature magnesiothermic catalysis may provide new sight to the synthesis of novel nanoscale carbide materials.


NANO ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (06) ◽  
pp. 2050079
Author(s):  
Xuelei Li ◽  
Jinfeng Bai ◽  
Jiaqi Li ◽  
Chao Li ◽  
Junru Zhang ◽  
...  

In this study, nitrogen-deficient graphitic carbon nitride (M-LS-g-C3N4) with a mesoporous structure and a large specific surface area was obtained by calcination after melt pretreatment using urea as a precursor. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis, ESR and photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the structure, morphology and optical performance of the samples. The TEM results showed the formation of a mesoporous structure on the 0.1[Formula: see text]M-LS-g-C3N4 surface. The porous structure led to an increase in the specific surface area from 41.5[Formula: see text]m2/g to 124.3[Formula: see text]m2/g. The UV-Vis results showed that nitrogen vacancies generated during the modification process reduced the band gap of g-C3N4 and improved the visible light absorption. The PL spectra showed that the nitrogen defects promoted the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. In the visible light degradation of methyl orange (MO), the reaction rate constant of 0.1[Formula: see text]M-LS-g-C3N4 reached 0.0086[Formula: see text][Formula: see text], which was 5.05 times that of pure g-C3N4. Superoxide radicals and photogenerated holes were found to be the main active species in the reaction system. This study provides an efficient, green and convenient means of preparing graphitic carbon nitride with a large specific surface area.


NANO ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (07) ◽  
pp. 1950080
Author(s):  
Hao Hu ◽  
Xiaogang Sun ◽  
Wei Chen ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Xu Li ◽  
...  

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were doped by ammonium borate as the sources of nitrogen and boron. Under the protection of Ar gas, boron-nitrogen doped CNTs were prepared through nitriding and boronization at high temperature. It is a conductive additive. Then, the obtained CNTs were mixed with activated carbon (AC), SP, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and cellulose fiber to prepare electrodes. With all the materials, a symmetric electric double-layer supercapacitor (EDLC) was assembled. Next, the materials and electrodes were also characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The factors, chemical connections, and specific surface area of the CNTs were analyzed by X-ray energy spectrum analysis (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), as well as a specific surface area and porosimetry analyzer (BET). In addition, the electrochemical performances of electric double-layer capacitors were tested with the help of cyclic voltammetry, constant-current charging and discharging, and so on. From the results, we can make a conclusion, that is, both B and N atoms were added into the CNTs and formed bonds successfully with carbon atoms mutually. Besides, the specific surface area is about 1.5 times than that of the CNT. When the charge/discharge current density reaches 50[Formula: see text]mA/g, we can find that the mass specific capacitance of the capacitor can run up to 32.19[Formula: see text]F/g. Also, we observe that the maximum power density is close to 220[Formula: see text]W/kg (700[Formula: see text]mA/g), and the energy density can arrive 9.31[Formula: see text]Wh/kg (50[Formula: see text]mA/g). Based on the impedance test, the electrodes are characterized with low impedance. After 2000 cycles, the boron-nitrogen doped double-layer capacitors maintain a capacitance retention ratio of above 95%. Its power density can still achieve 220[Formula: see text]W/kg when the energy density keeps at 3.46[Formula: see text]Wh/kg. In other words, the electrochemical performance functions of the electric double-layer capacitors are enhanced while the CNTs serve as the electrodes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 625 ◽  
pp. 243-246
Author(s):  
Shu Hua Geng ◽  
Wei Zhong Ding ◽  
Shu Qiang Guo ◽  
Xiong Gang Lu

Iron ore reduction and carbon deposition in pure CO was investigated by using thermogravimetric (TG) method over the temperature range of 0-1200°C. The results of the work may be summarized as follows: in CO stream, carbon deposition occurred below 900°C, no carbon deposition was found above 1000°C. X-Ray analysis of the reacted sample indicated that the carbon deposition occurred with the iron was reduced. The iron reduction process and carbon deposition occurred simultaneously. The rate of carbon deposition changed with the transformation of iron oxides. The specific surface area and pore structure of reduced samples were analyzed. The specific surface area changed with the amount of carbon deposition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 316-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prune Steins ◽  
Arnaud Poulesquen ◽  
Fabien Frizon ◽  
Olivier Diat ◽  
Jacques Jestin ◽  
...  

Nitrogen sorption and small- and wide-angle X-ray and neutron scattering techniques were used to study the porous structure of geopolymers, inorganic polymers synthesized by reaction of a strongly alkaline solution and an aluminosilicate source (metakaolin). The effects of aging and the use of alkali activators (Na+, K+) of different sizes were investigated at room temperature. The influence of aging time on the microstructure of both geopolymer matrixes was verified in terms of pore volume and specific surface area. The results suggested a refinement of the porosity and therefore a reduction in the pore volume over time. Regardless of the age considered, some characteristics of the porous network such as pore size, shape and distribution depend on the alkali activator used. Whatever the technique considered, the potassium geopolymer has a greater specific surface area than the sodium geopolymer. According to the scattering results, the refinement of the porosity can be associated with, first, a densification of the solid network and, secondly, a partial closure of the porosity at the nanometre scale. The kinetics are much slower for the sodium geopolymer than for the potassium geopolymer in the six months of observation.


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