Potential of novel porous materials for capture of toluene traces in air under humid conditions.

We evaluated the potential of several novel porous materials for toluene capture in air under humid conditions. Four novel porous solids of different nature were studied and compared to two reference materials: two hyper-cross-linked polymers HCP and SMP, the metal organic framework MAF-6 and the activated carbon derived from MAF-6 (AC-MAF-6) with references (Norit RB3 and a dealuminated Y zeolite (DAY)). The affinity of the sorbents for toluene was determined from adsorption isotherms recorded at 25 °C and the low pressure part of the isotherms (<100 Pa) were successfully fitted with the Unilan equation allowing extrapolation to sub ppm (<0.1 Pa) concentration range. These equilibrium measurements were complemented by recording the breakthrough curves at 10 Pa of toluene under dry and humid conditions (50% relative humidity). While MAF-6 and DAY show low dynamic capacities under these conditions, HCP and AC-MAF-6 exhibit much better performances which in the case of AC-MAF-6 are close to RB3 activated carbon even under humid conditions. Moreover, these sorbents can be successfully regenerated under mild conditions (200 °C) and show stable performance through adsorption/desorption cycles. Our work suggests that HCP and MAF-6-derived activated carbon are promising materials for toluene capture in air under realistic conditions. [Display omitted] • Potential of novel sorbents for toluene capture under humid conditions is evaluated. • The reactivity was characterized by measuring adsorption isotherms and breakthrough curves. • Activated carbon derived from MAF-6 MOF shows promising properties even below 1 ppm. • Hyper-cross-linked polymers show high capacity at 100 ppm, but not below 1 ppm. • Regenerability of the hyper-cross-linked polymers is confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]