Combustion derived carbon with ultrahigh-mesoporosity and moderate surface affinity towards reversible low-volatile gas capture.

An eruptive solution combustion synthesized carbonaceous sorbent (ECSC) with unprecedented naphthalene adsorption and desorption performances is generated by introducing rational mesoporosity and nitrogen groups into a layer-by-layer porous carbon network. The integration of all key elements via careful tuning of morphological, porous, and chemical properties during the synthesis of ECSC opens up vast possibilities to overcome the adsorption–desorption dilemma for low-volatile or large-molecular gases, which offers great opportunities for gas separation and purification applications. [Display omitted] • Carbon sorbent was derived with an facile eruptive solution combustion strategy. • Layer-by-layer network, rational mesoporosity, and reversible sites were integrated. • Unprecedented high adsorption capacity and kinetics for naphthalene were achieved. • Good regenerability with low naphthalene desorption activation energy was obtained. • Moderate sorption affinity of naphthalene-pyridinic N π–π bonding was proposed. Capturing naphthalene as a valuable chemical from waste gases via adsorption on porous sorbent materials is a promising approach to tackle such an environmental health issue with additional economic benefits. However, very few sorbents have simultaneously high adsorption capacity and good regenerability for the large-molecular and low-volatile naphthalene. Here we attempt to address this challenge by integrating key fabrication elements of a layer-by-layer network, rational mesoporosity, and highly reversible sites into a carbonaceous adsorbent (ECSC) using a facile and fast eruptive solution combustion synthesis method. Adsorption breakthrough and temperature-programmed desorption experiments show that the ECSC achieves all-round superior naphthalene capture performance with unprecedented high capacity, fast kinetics, and low desorption energy. The combination of in situ DRIFTS, XPS, and DFT calculations reveals the moderate adsorption affinity of mitigated π–π stacking bonding between tilted naphthalene molecule and surface pyridinic N. This work affords new insights for designing next-generation adsorbents for naphthalene removal and presents a way of overcoming the adsorption–desorption dilemma for gas purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]