CF4 Adsorption on Microporous Carbons Prepared by Carbonization of Poly(vinylidene fluoride)

CF 4 is a gas with high global warming potential and has an extremely long atmospheric lifetime. This study developed a method for capturing CF 4 gas via adsorption using microporous carbons. Microporous carbon adsorbents were synthesized by a facile protocol involving carbonization of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) at high temperatures (400–800 °C) without additional activation, and the effects of carbonization on the characteristics and CF 4 adsorption of PVDF-based adsorbents were investigated. Increasing the carbonization temperature enhanced the textural properties of the adsorbent, resulting in the increased CF 4 adsorption capacity. Above 700 °C, PVDF was fully dehydrofluorinated, and the microporous carbon synthesized at 800 °C exhibited superior textural properties with a maximum CF 4 adsorption capacity of 1.85 mol/kg at 25 °C under atmospheric pressure. The PVDF-based microporous carbons also exhibited fast adsorption–desorption kinetics, excellent cyclic stability, and good selectivity for CF 4 over N 2 at relatively low CF 4 pressures. The microporous carbons developed in this study have potential for use as novel adsorbents for CF 4 capture.