Adsorption of C6 hydrocarbon rings on mesoporous catalyst supports

The adsorption of cyclohexane, cyclohexene, 1,3-cyclohexadiene, 1,4-cyclohexadiene and benzene was studied on pristine and shortened multi-wall carbon nanotubes, SBA-15 and a novel high surface area mesoporous carbon (CMH). Data were fitted with the Freundlich adsorption equation and the correlation between the fitted parameters and quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR) descriptors of the adsorbates was analyzed. Adsorption on carbon nanotubes is more sensitive to the partial pressure of unsaturated adsorbates, whereas SBA-15 is more sensitive to saturated partners. CMH is a neutral material that appears to be particularly useful for studying catalyst particle efficiency without the influence of the support itself.