Fabrication of core-shell structural Y@VTMS-DVB composites with enhanced hydrophobicity for toluene capture under humid environment

Zeolite Y serves as an effective adsorbent for VOCs capture due to its ordered porous structure, exceptional thermal stability, chemical resistance and fine-tune key properties. However, the hydrophilicity caused by the low SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio seriously limits its industrial application, especially in humid environments. In this work, a series of core-shell composites Y@VTMS-DVB_n were prepared through surface grafting and copolymerization. A variety of characterizations were utilized to study the structural and morphological changes of the prepared samples. The dynamic breakthrough adsorption experiment showed that the toluene uptake was significantly improved from 1.77 mg/g to 53.09 mg/g under 30 % relative humidity. Moreover, the core-shell composite exhibited excellent regeneration properties, the adsorption capacity remained 90 % under wet conditions after 6 cycles of regeneration. Adsorption kinetic analysis revealed that the adsorption behavior of toluene on the prepared adsorbents was primarily physical adsorption. These results show that the core-shell composite is a promising candidate for VOCs removal in industrial application.