Activated carbon-supported CuO nanoparticles: a hybrid material for carbon dioxide adsorption

Abstract

Activated carbon-supported copper(II) oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were synthesized by simple impregnation method to improve carbon dioxide (CO₂) adsorption capacity of the support. The structural and chemical properties of the hybrid material were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyses. The analyses showed that CuO nanoparticles are well-distributed on the activated carbon surface. The CO₂ adsorption behavior of the activated carbon-supported CuO nanoparticles was observed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and BET analyses. The results showed that CuO nanoparticle loading on activated carbon led to about 70% increase in CO₂ adsorption capacity of activated carbon under standard conditions (1 atm and 298 K). The main contributor to the observed increase is an improvement in chemical adsorption of CO₂ due to the presence of CuO nanoparticles on activated carbon.

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