Adsorption kinetic, thermodynamic, and desorption studies of isopropyl alcohol vapor by oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were oxidized by sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution and used as adsorbents to study adsorption kinetics, thermodynamics, and desorption of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) vapor in an airstream. The adsorption capacity of IPA decreased with temperature, indicating an exothermic nature of the adsorption process, and slightly decreased with relative humidity, showing a hydrophobic nature of the adsorbent surface. The adsorption mechanism appears mainly attributable to physical forces from 5 to 25 °C but appears primarily attributable to chemical forces from 25 to 35 °C. A comparative study on the cyclic IPA adsorption between SWCNTs(NaOCl) and granular activated carbon, GAC(NaOCl), was also conducted and the results revealed that the SWCNTs(NaOCl) show better repeated availability of IPA adsorption during 15 cycles of operation than the GAC(NaOCl). This suggests that the SWCNTs(NaOCl) are efficient IPA adsorbents and can be used in the prolonged cyclic adsorption/desorption operation.