Liquid-phase diffusivity of benzene within mesoporous materials measured by a laser Raman technique

The intracrystalline diffusivities of benzene within a series of porous materials in the liquid phase (cyclohexane was used as solvent) were measured by a constant volumetric method using Raman spectroscopy at a temperature range from 323 to 393 K. Silicalite-1, mono-dispersed mesoporous silica spheres (MMSS), silica gel, γ-Al2O3, and SiO2–Al2O3 were used as adsorbents. The intracrystalline diffusivity was calculated by parameter fitting using theoretical equations and the experimental transient change of benzene concentrations with time in response to the adsorption. The intracrystalline diffusivities of benzene within mesoporous silicas were almost the same as that within the micropore of silicalite-1, though the pore diameters of silicalite-1 and mesoporous silicas were different from each other. It is considered that the pore walls as well as the solvent molecules of cyclohexane affect the diffusion of benzene molecules in the mesopore region.