Carbon Adsorbents: Physical Characteristics and Selection Guide

The following information is gathered to assist chemists and method developers in locating the proper specialty carbon adsorbent for their use. Additional assistance can be obtained by contacting our Technical Service group at techservice@sial.com.

• Physical Characteristics of Our Specialty Adsorbents – easy-to-use chart that shows the approximate surface area, pore volume, pore diameter, and free fall density for each of our specialty carbon adsorbents
• Carbon Adsorbent Cross-Reference – handy table to find replacements for many adsorbents, including some that are discontinued
• Carbon Adsorbent Selection Based on Analyte Size – bed order suggestions for multi-bed air monitoring tubes
• A Tool for Selecting an Adsorbent for Thermal Desorption Applications – Technical Report with detailed adsorption/desorption characteristics of fifteen of our specialty carbon adsorbents, plus nine other adsorbents

Physical Characteristics of our Specialty Carbon Adsorbents

To view the approximate surface area, pore volume, pore diameter, micropore diameter, and free fall density for each of our specialty carbon adsorbents, simply click the graphic below. Also indicated is the type of adsorbent (CMS, SGPC, GCB, etc.), the shape (spherical or granular), and whether it is scalable. Included are all our Carboxen^®, Carbosieve^®, Graphsphere™, Carbotrap^®, and Carbopack™ adsorbents. Additional assistance can be obtained by contacting our Technical Service group.

Adsorbent Cross-Reference Guide

Use this easy-to-use cross-reference table to find our recommendations for non-Supelco adsorbents, including some that are discontinued.

Carbon Adsorbent Selection Based on Analyte Size

To assist with the selection of our specialty carbon adsorbents, this table below lists some general guidelines based on analyte size. For multi-bed tubes, use the weaker adsorbent in front of the stronger adsorbent to protect it (this will keep analytes from adsorbing on a bed too strong, resulting in poor analyte release during desorption). For example, use Carbotrap C in front of Carbotrap B.

A Tool for Selecting an Adsorbent for Thermal Desorption Applications

Detailed adsorption/desorption characteristics of fifteen of our specialty carbons plus nine other adsorbents, depicted in twenty-four easy-to-follow color-coded tables, are shown in A Tool for Selecting an Adsorbent for Thermal Desorption Applications (T402025 HTA). To download your no-charge copy of this Technical Report, simply click the graphic of the report cover.