Effect of Oxyfluorination of Activated Carbon Fibers on Adsorption of Benzene Gas Causing Sick House Syndrome

In this study, activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were treated by oxy-fluorination to improve the adsorption property of benzene gas, one of the gases causing sick house syndrome. Surface properties and pore characteristics of oxyfluorinated activated carbon fibers were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and adsorption properties of benzene gas were evaluated by gas chromatography (GC). As a result of XPS data, it was confirmed that the fluorine functional groups on activated carbon fibers surface increased with increasing the fluorine partial pressure. The specific surface area of all samples decreased after the oxyfluorination treatment, but the micropore volume ratio increased when the fluorine partial pressure was at 0.1 bar. The oxyfluorinated activated carbon fibers adsorbed 100 ppm benzene gas for an 11 h, it was found that the adsorption efficiency of benzene gas was improved about twice as much as that of untreated ones.