Dynamic adsorption of toluene on pore-size tuned supermicroporous silicas

• Supermicroporous silicas (Dpore = 0.7–2.0 nm) were synthesized by solvent-free method.
• The effect of micropore size for dynamic adsorption efficiency was investigated.
• The dynamic adsorption efficiency was highly enhanced in the pores smaller than 1 nm.

The dynamic adsorption of toluene was investigated using supermicroporous silicas (SMPSs) synthesized through a solvent-free route by using tetraethoxysilane and conventional alkyltrimethylammonium halides as a structure-directing agent. The adsorption capacity of SMPSs depended on their pore diameters, which were precisely tuned in a range from 0.7 to 2.0 nm at single-angstrom intervals. The micropore filling of the molecule that is highly enhanced with micropores smaller than 1 nm improves the dynamic adsorption performance.

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