Chlorobenzene, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride adsorption on undoped and metal-doped sol-gel substrates (SiO2, Ag/SiO2, Cu/SiO2 and Fe/SiO2)

Adsorption isotherms of chlorobenzene, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride vapors on undoped SiO2, and metal-doped Ag/SiO2, Cu/SiO2 and Fe/SiO2 substrates were measured in the temperature range of 398-593 K. These substrates were prepared from a typical sol-gel technique in the presence of metal dopants that rendered an assortment of microporous-mesoporous solids. The relevant characteristic of these materials was the different porosities and micropore to mesopore volume ratios that were displayed; this was due to the effect that the cationic metal valence exerts on the size of the sol-gel globules that compose the porous solid. The texture of these SiO2 materials was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, and diverse adsorption methods. The pore-size distributions of the adsorbents confirmed the existence of mesopores and supermicropores, while ultramicropores were absent. The Freundlich adsorption model approximately fitted the chlorinated compounds adsorption data on the silica substrates by reason of a heterogeneous energy distribution of adsorption sites. The intensity of the interaction between these organic vapors and the surface of the SiO2 samples was analyzed through evaluation of the isosteric heat of adsorption and standard adsorption energy; from these last results it was evident that the presence of metal species within the silica structure greatly affected the values of both the amounts adsorbed as well as of the isosteric heats of adsorption