Functionalized graphene-trimethoxyphenyl silane for toluene removal from workplace air by sorbent gas extraction method

Inhalation exposure to toluene in the environment and workplace causes that some concerns about its adverse health effects on public and workers raise. So the implementation of high-performance methods to control toluene emission in industrial and environment settings is very important. Moreover, a new synthesized sorbent based on functionalizing graphene with N-Phenyl-3-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane (G-PhAPTMS, C12H21NO3Si) was developed as a novel sorbent for removal of toluene from air by sorbent gas extraction procedure (SGEP). By proposed method, the removal efficiency of G-PhAPTMS was compared with other sorbents such as activated carbon (AC), graphene (G), and graphene oxide (GO). In addition, the standard gas of toluene generated in pure air with different concentrations, and the effects of parameters such as temperature (10-90 °C), flow rate (50-500 mL min-1) and the amount of sorbent (2-30 mg) were investigated. According to the results, increasing the flow rate and temperature had negative effects on the removal efficiency of all sorbents. The highest removal efficiency of G-PhAPTMS was obtained up to 35 °C and less than 250 mL min-1 (> 95%). In optimized conditions, the amount of sorbent for toluene removal from air was achieved more than 10 mg of G-PhAPTMS. Finally, the results indicate that theG-PhAPTMS has high removal efficiency and surface area as compared to the AC, G, and GO. Furthermore, functionalizing graphene with N-Phenyl-3-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane improved the absorption of toluene due to chemical bonding (π–π electron donor–acceptor) and introduced an environmentally friendly sorbent

کلیدواژه ها:

Toluene ، Chemical adsorption ، Graphene ، N-Phenyl-3-aminopropyl ، trimethoxy silane ، Sorbent gas extraction ، procedure ،