Gas Adsorption Properties of the Ternary ZnO/CuO/CuCl₂ Impregnated Activated Carbon System for Multigas Respirator Applications Assessed through Combinatorial Methods and Dynamic Adsorption Studies

A ternary library of 64 ZnO/CuO/CuCl₂ impregnated activated carbon samples was synthesized and screened automatically using a combinatorial (combi) method. The ability of the samples to adsorb toxic gases was screened gravimetrically. The stoichiometric ratio of reaction (SRR) between the moles of toxicant and the total moles of impregnant was obtained from the calculated mass increase of the samples after chemisorption, with a high SRR indicating high efficiency of toxicant removal. The combi samples that exhibited good dry SO₂ and NH₃ adsorption were prepared in bulk using the incipient wetness method and were evaluated for multigas respirator function by dynamic adsorption studies of SO₂, NH₃, HCN, and C₆H₁₂ gases in either dry or humid conditions at ambient temperature. The bulk samples showed equivalent gas adsorption capacities when exposed to the different challenge gases indicating the value of the combi method for initial screening. Cu₂Cl­(OH)₃ was identified to be a potential multigas adsorbent