Carbon aerogels used in carbon dioxide capture

In this work the maximum carbon dioxide adsorption capacity of carbon aerogels, obtained by a sol-gel process using 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid/formaldehyde (DHBAF) and resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) as precursors, was studied. The effect of increasing the temperature of carbonization and physical activation of the samples DHBAF was also studied. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity is favoured at lower temperatures, adsorption and desorption are rapid and the performance is maintained over several cycles of CO2 adsorption/desorption. A comparison with samples of commercial carbons was also made and it was concluded that carbon aerogels exhibit a behaviour comparable or superior to that obtained for the commercial carbons studied.

Mesoporous Carbon as effective and sustainable catalyst for fine chemistry

It is well known that activated carbon with welldeveloped porosity is a promising material that have been used for several applications, from adsorption to catalysis. Research in this field has intensified in recent years, looking for new and improved characteristics and applications. Our research group, recently renamed Materials for Adsorption and Catalysis group (MAC) in LAQV-REQUIMTE, has also devoted many research work in this subject, and has developed several collaboration works with other national and international research groups in the field. Among our research group interests there is the study of catalytic properties of carbon materials and specifically mesoporous carbon. Some of the promising results were selected and summarized here, demonstrating that mesoporous carbon is an efficient and environmentally friendly heterogeneous catalyst.