Adsorption behaviors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on porous clay heterostructures (PCH)

Porous clay heterostructures (PCHs) are capable of adsorbing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, PCH was synthesized by modifying bentonite (Bent) with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) and dodecylamine (DDA). Adsorption of six volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including acetone, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene and p-xylene by PCH was investigated. It was observed that adsorption capacities of VOCs were strongly dependent on their properties including cross-sectional area, polarizability, enthalpy of vaporization and critical volume by the multiple linear regression (MLR) approach. Furthermore, PCH had higher adsorption affinity for the aliphatic hydrocarbon compound (acetone) than that for aromatic compounds, which could be attributed to the HOMO energy effects of VOCs. Therefore, PCH could be attractive candidate adsorbents for VOC removal.