To adsorb and remove formaldehyde, which is a harmful volatile organic chemical (VOC) detected indoors, an alkylamine was introduced into the substrate as a formaldehyde adsorbent. In this study, Tetraethylenepentaamine (TEPA) was introduced into the mesoporous silica using the amine impregnation method. Since the impregnated alkylamine can block the pores of the silica substrate, the pore size and pore volume are very important factors for its use as a substrate for an adsorbent. Focusing on the substrate's pore properties, Santa Barbara Amorphous-15 (SBA-15) was chosen as a conventional one-dimensional pore-structured mesoporous silica, and dendritic mesoporous silica (DMS) as a three-dimensional pore-structured mesoporous silica. To 1 g each of silica substrate DMS and SBA-15, 0, 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 g of TEPA were introduced. A fixed concentration and amount of formaldehyde gas was flowed through the adsorbent and then the adsorbent was changed to the 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH) cartridge to adsorb the remaining formaldehyde. According to the methods recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), the formaldehyde captured by 2,4-DNPH was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A comparison of DMS and SBA-15 in the amine impregnation method shows that not only surface area, but also large pore size and high pore volume, contribute to the formaldehyde adsorption ability.
Keywords: 2,4-DNPH; TEPA; amine impregnation method; dendritic mesoporous silica; formaldehyde adsorption; formaldehyde-2,4-DNPH; hierarchical mesoporous silica; mesoporous silica.