Comparison of Sorption to Carbon-Based Materials and Nanomaterials Using Inverse Liquid Chromatography

Sorption studies of carbon-based materials and nanomaterials are typically conducted using batch experiments, but the analysis of weakly sorbing compounds may be challenging. Column chromatography represents a promising complement as higher sorbent to solution ratios can be applied. The sorbent is packed in a column, and sorption data are calculated by relating sorbate retention times to that of a nonretarded tracer. In this study, sorption of heterocyclic organic compounds (pyrazole, pyrrole, furan, and thiophene) by carbon-based materials (activated carbon, biochar, and graphite) and nanomaterials (functionalized carbon nanotubes and graphene platelets) was compared for the first time using column chromatography. D2O was used as nonretarded tracer. Sorption isotherms were nonlinear and described well by the Freundlich model. Sorption differed between the materials regarding determined Freundlich coefficients (Kf) by more than two orders of magnitude for isotherms in a similar concentration range. Normalization of Kf with the surface area of the sorbent significantly reduced but did not remove the differences between the sorbents. Overall, column chromatography represents the opportunity to study sorption of weakly sorbing compounds to diverse carbon-based sorbent materials with a single experimental approach, which is challenging in batch experiments because of the very different sorption properties of some sorbent materials.