Physical activation and characterization of tannin-based foams enforced with boric acid and zinc chloride

Toni Varila; Henrik Romar; Tero Luukkonen; Ulla Lassi; Toni Varila; Henrik Romar; Tero Luukkonen; Ulla Lassi

doi:10.3934/matersci.2019.2.301

AIMS Materials Science

2019, Volume 6, Issue 2: 301-314. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2019.2.301

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Research article Topical Sections

Physical activation and characterization of tannin-based foams enforced with boric acid and zinc chloride

1.
Research Unit of Sustainable Chemistry, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 8000, FI-90014, Finland
2.
Applied Chemistry, University of Jyvaskyla, Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius, P.O. Box 567, FI-67101 Kokkola, Finland
3.
Fibre and Particle Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 8000, FI-90014, Finland

Received: 08 January 2019 Accepted: 28 March 2019 Published: 18 April 2019

In this study, tannin-furanic-based foams enforced with H₃BO₃ and ZnCl₂ are investigated, as well as their properties such as mechanical strength, specific surface area, and pore size distribution. From an industrial point of view, the aforementioned properties of these foams play a key role when used as catalyst, adsorbent, or gas storing materials. Therefore, this study aims to prove that such enforced tannin-furanic foams are promising materials for these types of applications. According to the results, materials that are up to five times stronger can be achieved by carbonizing the foams in comparison to maturing them. With physical activation, it was possible to obtain a specific surface area as high as 845 m²/g with a pore volume of up to 0.35 cm³/g. Chemical activation, using ZnCl₂ as the activating agent, produced a specific surface area and pore volume of 737 m²/g and 0.31 cm³/g. However, the pore sizes were mostly microporous, independently of activation procedure used.
- tannin furanic foams,
- boric acid,
- zinc chloride,
- mechanical strength,
- physical activation
Citation: Toni Varila, Henrik Romar, Tero Luukkonen, Ulla Lassi. Physical activation and characterization of tannin-based foams enforced with boric acid and zinc chloride[J]. AIMS Materials Science, 2019, 6(2): 301-314. doi: 10.3934/matersci.2019.2.301

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Abstract

In this study, tannin-furanic-based foams enforced with H₃BO₃ and ZnCl₂ are investigated, as well as their properties such as mechanical strength, specific surface area, and pore size distribution. From an industrial point of view, the aforementioned properties of these foams play a key role when used as catalyst, adsorbent, or gas storing materials. Therefore, this study aims to prove that such enforced tannin-furanic foams are promising materials for these types of applications. According to the results, materials that are up to five times stronger can be achieved by carbonizing the foams in comparison to maturing them. With physical activation, it was possible to obtain a specific surface area as high as 845 m²/g with a pore volume of up to 0.35 cm³/g. Chemical activation, using ZnCl₂ as the activating agent, produced a specific surface area and pore volume of 737 m²/g and 0.31 cm³/g. However, the pore sizes were mostly microporous, independently of activation procedure used.

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