Adsorption and Sensing Properties of Formaldehyde on Chemically Modified Graphene Surfaces

Facile Mesoporous Hollow Silica Synthesis for Formaldehyde Adsorption

Formaldehyde emitted from household products is classified as a hazardous substance that can adversely affect human health. Recently, various studies related to adsorption materials for reducing formaldehyde have been widely reported. In this study, mesoporous and mesoporous hollow silicas with amine functional groups introduced were utilized as adsorption materials for formaldehyde. Formaldehyde adsorption characteristics of mesoporous and mesoporous hollow silicas having well-developed pores were compared based on their synthesis methods-with or without a calcination process. Mesoporous hollow silica synthesized through a non-calcination process had the best formaldehyde adsorption characteristics, followed by mesoporous hollow silica synthesized through a calcination process and mesoporous silica. This is because a hollow structure has better adsorption properties than mesoporous silica due to large internal pores. The specific surface area of mesoporous hollow silica synthesized without a calcination process was also higher than that synthesized with a calcination process, leading to a better adsorption performance. This research suggests a facile synthetic method of mesoporous hollow silica and confirms its noticeable potential as a support for the adsorption of harmful gases.

Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Characterization of Graphene Oxide in Methanol Films

It has been widely established that solvents modify the functional groups on the graphene oxide (GO) basal plane and, thus, modify its reactivity. Despite the increasing interest in GO films, a less studied aspect is the influence of methanol on the refractive index of GO films. Herein, the Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE) technique has been used to characterize the optical response of GO in methanol films (0.4 mg/mL) dip-coated on glass substrates. The ellipsometric data have been modeled using a Lorentz oscillator model. We have found that the energy of the oscillator at ~3.9 eV for GO in water shifts to ~4.2 eV for GO in methanol films.