Electroless copper deposition on a pitch-based activated carbon fiber and an application for NO removal Jeong Hoon Byeon a , Hee Seung Yoon b , Ki Young Yoon a , Seung Kon Ryu b , Jungho Hwang a, ⁎ a School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, Republic of Korea b School of Chemical Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea Received 31 October 2007; accepted in revised form 21 December 2007 Available online 28 December 2007 Abstract Pitch fibers were prepared from petroleum-derived isotropic pitch precursors using melt-blown spinning. Activated carbon fibers (ACF) were formed from pitch fibers and after stabilization, carbonization and steam thermal activation were then further activated with Pd–Sn catalytic nuclei in a single-step process. The activated ACF were then used as supporters in the specific, electroless deposition of fine copper particles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results showed that the ACF were uniformly coated with nearly pure fine copper particles, and the copper content on the ACF increased with deposition time. The amounts of copper on the ACF and their crystalline characteristics were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma and a X-ray diffractometry, respectively. With the copper particles-deposited on the ACF, the removal of nitrogen monoxide (NO) for four different deposition times (5, 10, 15 and 20 min) was tested. Experiments on the removal of NO were carried out in a packed bed tubular reactor with various reaction temperatures ranging between 423 and 673 K. For all deposition times, the NO removal efficiency increased with increasing reaction temperature up to 673 K. The NO removal efficiency was the highest when the amount was Cu/ACF=110 mg/g (deposition time of 5 min), however, decreased at Cu/ACF beyond 110 mg/g (deposition times of 10, 15, 20 min) due to the decreased adsorption as a result of the increased amount of copper. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 61.30.Hn; 61.46.Df; 68.47.De; 71.20.Be; 78.55.Mb; 81.05.Ni; 81.16.Hc; 82.47.Wx; 92.60.Sz Keywords: Activated carbon fibers; Single-step activation; Electroless deposition; NO removal; Adsorption property 1. Introduction Porous carbon materials, due to their extensive specific sur- face area, high adsorption capacity, microstructure, and special surface reactivity, have been widely used in separation, pu- rification, and catalytic processes [1]. Activated carbon fibers (ACF), highly microporous carbon materials [2–4], are commercially available in the form of fiber tows, cloths (fabrics), papers, mats and felts [5]. ACF have a larger micropore volume and a more uniform micropore size distribution than granular activated carbons (GAC) and; thus, are considered to have a larger adsorption capacity and greater adsorption and desorption rates [6–11]. The ACF may be packed or constructed to fit almost any geometry for almost any catalytic application and satisfies the requirements of high catalyst effectiveness and a low pressure drop for finely divided catalysts, but avoids the technical problems associated with powders. For example, the ACF may be employed for the removal of NO x [12–16], but only phys- ically adsorbs a limited amount of NO because of the weak interactions between the two [17,18]. The catalytic reduction of NO to N 2 and O 2 using ACF employing a transition metal (Ni, Fe, Cu, or Pd) prepared by the impregnation and precipitation of an aqueous solution of the metal, has previously been inves- tigated [1], copper has been shown to possess the most efficient catalytic activity toward the reduction of NO to N 2 and O 2 , both with and without O 2 [19,20]. Recently, electrolytic metal deposition, of an aqueous solu- tion of metal ions, has been proposed as a useful method for the Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Surface & Coatings Technology 202 (2008) 3571 – 3578 www.elsevier.com/locate/surfcoat ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 2 2123 2821; fax: +82 2 312 2821. E-mail address: hwangjh@yonsei.ac.kr (J. Hwang). 0257-8972/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2007.12.032