Modification of the adsorption properties of high surface area graphites by oxygen functional groups

The role of the concentration of oxygen functional groups on the surface of commercial high surface area graphite has been studied in this work. For this purpose, two samples of the parent HSAG have been both oxidized with aqueous HNO3 solution and pyrolysed at 900 °C under an He flow, in order to remove surface oxygen groups. TPD results, in agreement with XPS experiments, reveal the existence of oxygen groups on the surface of the parent HSAG, whose concentration increases substantially after the oxidative treatment, whereas they disappear after the thermal treatment. The adsorption of different alkanes, aromatics and chlorohydrocarbons on the three samples were compared. Adsorption capacities were derived from the adsorption isotherms, whereas thermodynamic properties have been determined from chromatographic retention data. Both the capacity and the strength of adsorption decrease after the oxidative treatment of the graphites. For n-alkanes and cyclic compounds, it was demonstrated that the presence of oxygen surface groups affects their interaction in lower extension. In the adsorption of aromatics and double-bonded compounds, the influence of surface functionalization is more pronounced, since the removal of electrons from the π-electron system of the basal planes, weaken these forces.