Adsorption and thermo desorption characteristics of hydrocarbons on single walled carbon nanotubes.

We investigated the heterogeneous adsorption and thermal desorption behaviors of acetone, n-hexane and trichloroethylene (TCE) on single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Adsorption isotherms for selected molecules on SWCNTs were measured using a quartz spring balance at temperatures ranging from 303.15 to 323.15 K. Thermal gravimetric desorption experiments were also conducted at different heating rates (2-10 K/min) to obtain information about the interaction strength of hydrocarbons with SWCNTs surfaces. The adsorption isotherm data were analyzed successfully with the temperature dependent Toth equation. To obtain the adsorption and desorption energy distribution functions (AED/DED) for hydrocarbons and nitrogen, the integral equation with Fowler-Guggenheim isotherm (for AED) and first order desorption rate equation (for DED) were solved using the generalized nonlinear regularization method. It was found that Henry's constants, the isosteric heats of adsorption, and the pattern of energy distribution function were highly dependent on the polarizability.