Kinetics of Adsorption-Induced Deformation of Microporous Carbons

Equilibrium and kinetic behavior of adsorption-induced deformation have attracted a lot of attention in the last few decades. The theoretical and experimental works cover activated carbons, coals, zeolites, glasses, etc. However, most of the theoretical works describe only the equilibrium part of the deformation process or focus on the time evolution of the adsorption process. The present paper aims to cover the existing gap using the thermodynamic framework combined with the diffusion-based description of adsorbate time evolution inside an adsorbent. We obtained self-consistent equations describing equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium adsorption, as well as deformation processes. Further, the obtained equations were verified on the experimental data of carbon dioxide and methane on activated carbons. The model is capable of describing both equilibrium and kinetic adsorption and adsorption-induced deformation data. Additionally, we studied the possible influence of slow relaxation processes in the adsorbent on the adsorption process. The current work helps to interpret experimental data for time-dependent adsorption-induced deformation.