Copper Loaded on Sol-Gel-Derived Alumina Adsorbents for Phosphine Removal

Abstract

The hydride gas of phosphine (PH(3)) is commonly used for semiconductor and optoelectronic industries. The local scrubbers must immediately abate it because of its high toxicity. In this study, copper (Cu) loaded on the sol-gel-derived gamma-alumina (Al(2)O(3)) adsorbents are prepared and tested to investigate the possibility of PH3 removal and sorbent regeneration. Test results showed that during the breakthrough time of over 99% PH(3) removal efficiency, the maximum adsorption capacity of Cu loaded on the sol-gel-derived gamma-Al(2)O(3) adsorbent is 18 mg-PH(3)/g-adsorbent. This is much higher than that of Cu loaded on the commercial gamma-Al(2)O(3) adsorbent-8.6 mg-PH(3)/g-adsorbent. The high specific surface area, narrow pore size distribution, and well dispersion of Cu loaded on the sol-gel-derived gamma-Al(2)O(3) could be the reasons for its high PH(3) adsorption capacity. The regeneration test shows that Cu loaded on the sol-gel-derived gamma-Al(2)O(3) adsorbent can be regenerated after a simple air purging procedure. The cumulative adsorption capacity for five regeneration cycles is 65 mg-PH(3)/g-adsorbent, which is approximately double that of the Cu/zeolite adsorbent demonstrated in the literature.