Investigation of sorption by an electrode deposit Original Research Article

The electrode deposit obtained at a.c. and d.c. arc discharge on the anode or cathode is mechanically stiff and contains a large diversity of carbon structures of a fullerene nature with different forms and sizes. Gaps of various sizes separate the structures. The large surface area of the carbon structures, their locations with respect to each other and the large porosity of some of the structures, allow us to consider the material as promising in sorption and catalysis. The ability to reduce the amorphous phase carbon found within the deposit is discussed with the aim of seeking to increase the effective surface area and activation ability of the fullerene type carbon structures. The adsorption properties of the electrode deposit were investigated. A complete desorption was observed. Information was gained with regard to the cyclic sorption properties of the fullerene material under investigation. A narrow adsorbate fraction was employed in vapor adsorption studies for 11 organic compounds. The nature of adsorption for different classes of compounds was studied and the application of this material in organic compound gas chromatographic separation is discussed. It was found that when a fullerene type deposit is used as a sorbent, the retention volumes (Vg) for the organic compounds under investigation were significantly smaller than those manifested for carbon black material and hence the efficiency in column use is higher.