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Propellants Explosives Pyrotechnics, Vol.36, No.2, 182-186, 2011
Adsorption of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene on MFI Zeolite
2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) was adsorbed onto all silica MFI zeolite. These TNT doped zeolite samples were examined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Results indicate that, using FTIR with an Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) accessory, mass loading percentages as low as 2.5 mass percent TNT in zeolite are detectable. It was also observed that adsorption of TNT onto MFI did not suppress the IR absorbing vibrations of TNT. TNT doped zeolite samples were washed, using vacuum aspiration, with water and acetone, both of which stripped the TNT from the zeolite samples, indicating that the adsorption of TNT onto MFI zeolite is a physisorption, rather than chemisorption, phenomenon. Finally, a lack of strain-induced peak broadening from XRD studies indicate that TNT does not enter the zeolitic pore structure, rather, it is adsorbed onto the zeolite surface.