Enhanced CO2 Adsorption on Activated Carbon‐Modified HKUST‐1 Composites

Abstract Mesoporous activated carbon (AC)‐modified HKUST‐1 composites with different AC contents were prepared and were used for CO 2 adsorption. The structure and physiochemical properties of the composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X‐ray diffractometer(XRD), thermogravimetry(TG) and nitrogen adsorption techniques. The results showed that the surface area and micro pore volume for the HKUST‐1@AC composites increase obviously compared to the HKUST‐1. Especially, the HKUST‐1@AC/2% gave the maximum specific surface area of 1145.71 m 2 /g and micropore volume of 0.4363 mL/g, resulting in highest CO 2 adsorption capacity of 155.7 mg/g, which is almost two times than that of the unmodified HKUST‐1. The content of oxygen‐containing functional groups in AC also play an important role in CO 2 adsorption for the HKUST‐1@AC/2% composites, and the optimum content of oxygen‐containing functional groups for the coconut shell AC is about 2.9 mg/g. This might be due to that HKUST‐1 grows along the surface of AC with rich oxygen‐containing functional groups, and a large number of micropores are formed between the two interfaces, therefore increasing CO 2 adsorption amount.