Carbon Adsorbents

Our commitment to carbon adsorbent research and product development spans more than two decades. Understanding how thermodynamic and kinetic properties affect the performance characteristics of both existing and novel carbons is our primary focus. The knowledge gained from this fundamental research has led to innovative new carbons and subsequent advances in the performance of many others. Today, we offer 50 different specialty carbons ranging in particle size from <0.2 to 841 μm and surface areas from 5 to 1500 m2/g.

High-Tech Carbons Engineered for Applications on This World and Beyond!
The unique and valuable characteristics of our carbons warranted their inclusion in experiments onboard the 1995 Galileo Mission to Jupiter, the 2005 Cassini-Huygens Missions to Saturn’s largest moon Titan, and the 2008 Phoenix Mission to Mars.
Back here on Earth, our carbons are used for such diverse applications as collection media for air sampling, packings in gas chromatography (GC) columns and solid phase extraction (SPE) hardware, and for the purification of various gas streams. One area of rapidly growing interest is the use of mesoporous nanocarbons in supercapacitor research.

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

Our full line of specialty carbons includes:

Graphitized Carbon Black (GCB) Adsorbents – generally are non-porous carbons, two groups are offered.
  • Carbotrap and Carbopack Adsorbents – widely used, referenced in numerous methods.
  • Small Particle Graphitized Carbon Black Adsorbents – suitable for use in electrochemical and bioprocessing applications.

Carbon Molecular Sieve (CMS) Adsorbents – generally are porous carbons, two product lines are offered.
  • Carboxen Adsorbents – have through-pore structures, resulting in efficient adsorption/desorption characteristics.
  • Carbosieve Adsorbents – have closed-pore structures, resulting in strong adsorption characteristics.

Carbon Adsorbent Sampler Kits – small quantities of several of our specialty carbon materials for method development.