The oxidation of aqueous thiols on a graphite intercalation compound adsorbent

Aqueous phase adsorption of thiols onto a graphite intercalation compound (GIC) adsorbent was shown to be accompanied by surface assisted oxidation of the thiols to their disulfide dimer. This effect was studied for three thiols; ethanethiol, propanethiol and sec-butanethiol. Unlike the case of thiol oxidation on activated carbons in aqueous conditions, the generation of dimer did not affect the adsorbent's ability to oxidise the thiols in solution in the concentration range studied (0-100 ppm). This was attributed to the non-porous, crystalline nature of the adsorbent. This meant that once formed the dimers migrated from the active sites for thiol oxidation, believed to be mainly at the edges of the graphite planes, onto the hydrophobic basal plane where they could be adsorbed. Oxidation of the GIC adsorbent in the anodic compartment of an electrochemical cell was shown to attenuate the adsorbent's ability to oxidise thiols. It was inferred that this was a result of a decrease in the amount of CO groups at the plane edges caused by this oxidation process.