Carbon–silica composite adsorbent: Characterization and adsorption of light gases

A novel carbon–silica composite has been synthesized from MCM-41 and polyfurfuryl alcohol and characterized via X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption. The adsorption and X-ray diffraction studies of the parent MCM-41 and the novel material are contrasted with a carbon derived from pure polyfurfuryl alcohol. The novel material has a high surface area, 850 m2/g, and a narrow pore size distribution centered at approximately 5 Å. The novel material is unique when compared to traditional activated carbons or templated mesoporous carbons. The pores contained in the novel material are assembled using templating techniques and are half the size of pores contained in traditional carbons. Room temperature adsorption isotherms for the novel material and MCM-41 are presented for nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and ethane.