Effect of Carbon Nanofibers Supported With Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on H2S Adsorbent Properties

Composites of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers containing zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper (Cu) were synthesized by using electrospinning as an adsorbent for hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Zinc acetate dihydrate and copper (II) acetate were used as a precursor. Electrospun nanofibers were carbonized at 800 degrees C in nitrogen atmosphere after partial stabilization at 200 degrees C in air atmosphere. The carbon nanofibers (CNFs) of PAN with ZnO and Cu were characterized by using TGA, XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS. It was confirmed that diameters of CNFs were 200 similar to 300 nm and uniform distribution of ZnO and Cu nanoparticles with size of about 10 nm was observed by SEM and TEM analysis. The products were tested for H2S adsorption at 300 degrees C. The adsorption dynamics of the prepared adsorbents were investigated in fixed-bed column as function of the concentration of H2S. The result showed that CNFs with ZnO nanoparticles exhibit three times higher H2S adsorption over bulk ZnO and CNFs with Cu nanoparticles. Such features may be used in many applications involving gas-solid reactive systems, especially those relying on fast reversible reactions such as environmental clean-up and gas sensing.