Investigation of Ultramicroporous Structure of One-Dimensional Lepidocrocite Titanates Using Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen Gases.

The novel material, one-dimensional lepidocrocite (1DL) titanate, is attracting industrial and scientific interest because of its applicability to a wide range of practical applications and its ease of synthesis and scale up of production. In this study, we investigated the CO adsorption capability and pore structures of 1DL freeze-dried and lithium chloride washed air-dried powders. The synthesized 1DL was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Using the constant-volume method, CO gas adsorption revealed that the 1DL exhibits type IV adsorption-desorption isotherms. The heats of adsorption obtained from the adsorption branches are lower than those obtained from the desorption branches. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, using N gas adsorption isotherms at 77 K showed that 1DL possesses 80.2 m/g of BET specific surface area. Nonlocal density functional theory analysis indicated that two types of pores, meso-pores and ultramicro pores, exist in the 1DL freeze-dried powders. This work provides deep insights into the pore structures and CO adsorption mechanisms of 1DL powders.