Biomolecular adsorption behavior on spherical carbon aerogels with various mesopore sizes

Spherical carbon aerogels (SCAs) with controlled particle size and mesopore size were synthesized by an emulsified sol–gel polymerization of phenol, melamine and formaldehyde. The adsorption rate and capacity of biomolecules with different molecular dimensions, including l-phenylalanine (Phe), vitamin B12 (VB), α  -chymotrypsin (Chy) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto SCAs were investigated. The mesopore size can be easily tuned in the range from 5 to 10 nm by simply adjusting catalyst concentration in the initial solution and the spherical particle size can be controlled in 50–500 μm by changing stirring speed. The as-prepared SCAs have high specific surface area (>600 m2/g>600 m2/g) and large pore volume (>1 cm3/g>1 cm3/g). The hardness of SCAs is ca. 10 times as large as that of commercial spherical activated carbon particles. The adsorption rate of VB is strongly depended on the mesopore size and particle size, and show an increasing tread with the increase of mesopore size and the decrease of particle size. For small molecule Phe, the specific surface area is key factor to determine the adsorption capacity, but the adsorption capacity of large molecules (VB, Chy and BSA) is dependent on the pore size of SCAs, which should be suitably larger than the molecule size of biomolecules.

Graphical abstractSpherical carbon aerogels with controlled particle size and mesopore size were used as hosts for selective adsorption biomolecules with different molecular dimensions.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide