Microcalorimetric study of ammonia chemisorption on H3PW12O40 supported onto mesoporous synthetic carbons and SBA-15.

Keggin tungstophosphoric acid supported onto mesoporous and meso-microporous materials was studied by ammonia microcalorimetry. Experiments were performed at high and low temperatures to separate the contributions of chemisorption and physisorption, low-temperature data being potentially important for the ambient temperature purification processes. Analysis of thermokinetic data obtained from heat output curves at an elevated temperature allows one to distinguish the transition between reaction of ammonia with the acid sites and the onset of physical sorption. Thermokinetic data are also sensitive to the pore structure of the support materials, with faster sorption registered in the case of materials with the open mesoporous structure. The SBA-15 supported acid shows the maximum ammonia uptake and the strongest acid sites among the three materials studied. The dynamics of sorption, characterized by the thermokinetic parameter, appears to be better in the two materials possessing open pore structure, mesoporous carbon Novacarb and especially the mesoporous silica SBA-15.