Design of new materials for environmental control

During the past several years we have pursued a program here at UIUC to tai lor the pore size and surface chemistry of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) t o greatly increase their efficiency and selectivity for removal of trace co ntaminants from the environment. In addition we have evolved new ways of pr eparing the ACFs to sharply reduce their cost (typically similar to$100/lb) to be more competitive with activated carbon granules ($1-2/lb), but also to greatly improve the abrasion resistance of the fibers. This was accompli shed by coating glass fibers with a phenolic resin and then activating the coating under a controlled atmosphere to produce a variety of tailored micr opores. Using chemically tailored ACFs, we describe major improvements over current activated carbons for adsorption of environmental contaminants.