A study of the thermal activation of synthetic zeolites (molecular sieve) for gas-solid chromatography

The thermal activation of synthetic zeolites from two sources has been investigated with reference to the adsorption chromatography of inorganic gases. It was found that the heats of adsorption for oxygen and carbon monoxide increased with activation temperature. Limits of detection for oxygen in argon and conversely argon in oxygen were determined as well as the chromatographic stability of the activated zeolite. The practical implications and importance of the results are discussed and the application to the analysis of fast reactor blanket gas is mentioned. An explanation is proposed for the adsorption behaviour of these activated materials, based on an electrostatic mechanism, and this has suggested a reason for the separation characteristics of oxygen and argon on polar zeolites. Further work is identified including the investigation of energy states of the oxygen molecule adsorbed on activated zeolite by means of ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy. (author)