Nicotine/mesoporous solids interactions at increasing temperatures under inert and air environments

In this work, the pyrolysis of nicotine under N2 and air atmospheres and in the presence of three mesoporous materials (SBA-15 and two different forms of MCM-41) has been studied by TGA-FTIR. The results obtained show that, in the absence of a catalyst, the thermal evolution of nicotine mainly results in the volatilization of the compound. In an air atmosphere, nicotine evolves at a slightly lower temperature than in N2 and the oxidation of the small solid residue at around 475 °C is observed. The results obtained suggest that the main interaction of SBA-15 with nicotine is related to adsorption processes, with slight modifications of the reaction pathways in an N2 atmosphere and enhanced oxidation in the presence of air. The thermal decomposition of nicotine in an inert atmosphere and in the presence of MCM-41 indicates that, besides the desorption processes, an early decomposition step takes place, yielding several derivatives of nicotine. This phenomenon seems to be enhanced in an air atmosphere, where the presence of MCM-41 appears to markedly modify the evaporation and desorption of nicotine processes.