Scribd
Upload
40 views2 pages

A Study On Scanning Electron Microscopy in Adsorption

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the adsorption of phenolphthalein on activated carbon. SEM images showed two different surface structures on the clean carbon particles - smooth areas with ridges and rough areas with micropores and edges. Adsorption was more efficient on the rough surfaces and edges, which had a higher percentage of edge area and thus higher adsorption potential. Significant contaminant accumulation in a linear pattern was observed on the rough surfaces and edges, while the smooth surfaces showed only a thin adsorbed layer. The linear accumulation on the rough surfaces was denser than that on the smooth surfaces.

Uploaded by

Nataraj Naik Banavath ch20m025
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
40 views2 pages

A Study On Scanning Electron Microscopy in Adsorption

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the adsorption of phenolphthalein on activated carbon. SEM images showed two different surface structures on the clean carbon particles - smooth areas with ridges and rough areas with micropores and edges. Adsorption was more efficient on the rough surfaces and edges, which had a higher percentage of edge area and thus higher adsorption potential. Significant contaminant accumulation in a linear pattern was observed on the rough surfaces and edges, while the smooth surfaces showed only a thin adsorbed layer. The linear accumulation on the rough surfaces was denser than that on the smooth surfaces.

Uploaded by

Nataraj Naik Banavath ch20m025
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

A Study on Scanning Electron Microscopy In Adsorption

by Nataraj Naik (CH20M025)


1. Introduction
1.1 Scanning electron microscopy: The scanning electron microscope (SEM) uses a focused
beam of high-energy electrons to generate a variety of signals at the surface of solid specimens.
The signals that derive from electron-sample interactions reveal information about the sample
including external morphology (texture), chemical composition, and crystalline structure, and
orientation of materials making up the sample. In most applications, data are collected over a
selected area of the surface of the sample, and a 2-dimensional image is generated that displays
spatial variations in these properties.
2. Fundamental Principles of Scanning Electron Microscopy
Accelerated electrons in an SEM carry significant amounts of kinetic energy, and this energy is
dissipated as a variety of signals produced by electron-sample interactions when the incident
electrons are decelerated in the solid sample. These signals include secondary electrons (that
produce SEM images), backscattered electrons (BSE), diffracted backscattered electrons
(EBSD that are used to determine crystal structures and orientations of minerals), photons
(characteristic X-rays that are used for elemental analysis and continuum X-rays), visible light
(cathodoluminescence--CL), and heat.
3. SEM in adsorption
Activated carbon is one of the most widely used materials to remove organic contaminants
from water or air due to its high adsorption capacity. The industrial significance of the activated
carbon includes both gas-phase adsorption (i.e.air purification, solvent recovery systems, and
respirators) and liquid phase adsorption.
3.1 Materials and methods
Short-term activated carbon adsorption experiments were conducted using PICA P104 type
granular activated carbon that is provided by Pica USA, Inc., Columbus, OH. The PICA P104
is characterized by the manufacturer as macro-microporous regenerable granular activated
carbon, designed to provide good adsorption of both small and large molecules.
Phenolphthalein(C6H4COOC(C6H4OH)2) with a molecular weight of 318.33 is used.
4. Results and discussion
Examination of the SEM micrographs of the clean activated carbon particles showed two types
of surfaces:
o smooth areas with long ridges
o rough areas with micropores and edges
5. Conclusions
The image analysis is an effective tool to characterize the surface and adsorption properties of
activated carbon. Analysis of the images taken by SEM showed two different surface structures
on the clean carbon particles. Adsorption was more efficient on the edges of the carbon surface.
The rough surfaces had a higher adsorption potential for the phenolic compound used. As a
result, the rough surfaces, which showed a higher percentage of edge area, also had a higher
adsorption potential. A significant fraction of the contaminant accumulation was observed on
surfaces as a linear pattern on the edges. The smooth surface showed a thin layer of adsorption.
The linear accumulation on the rough surfaces was also significantly denser than the surface
accumulation observed on the smooth surfaces.
5. References
Bansal, R.C., Donnet, J.B., Stoeckli, F., 1988. Active Carbon. Mercel Dekker, New York.
Davies, G.M., Seayon, N.A., Vassiliadis, V.S., 1999. Calculation of pore size distributions of
activated carbons from adsorption isotherms. Langmuir 15, 8235–8245.
Cheremisinoff, P.N., Ellerbusch, F., 1980. Carbon Adsorption Handbook. Ann Arbor Science,
Michigan.
Economy, J., Daley, M., Hippo, E.J., Tandon, D., 1995. Elucidating the pore structure of
activated carbon fibers through direct imaging using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).
Carbon 33, 344–345.
Neely, J.W., Isacoff, E.G., 1982. Carbonaceous Adsorbents for the Treatment of Ground and
Surface Waters. Marcel Dekker, New York.

You might also like