Humidity-dependent formaldehyde adsorption on porous frameworks: A comparative study of MOFs, zeolites, and activated carbon
Abstract
Formaldehyde is a pervasive pollutant with significant health implications, necessitating efficient mitigation strategies under realistic environmental conditions. This study investigates the formaldehyde scavenging performance of various porous materials such as zeolites (including FAU-type variants), metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and activated carbon at 2 ppm concentration and room temperature, both in dry air and at 50% relative humidity (RH). In the absence of humidity, Zeolite 13X exhibited the highest adsorption capacity, attributed to its high pore opening, high supercages diameter and hydrophilic character. A systematic decline in scavenging efficiency was observed with increasing Si/Al ratio among FAU-type zeolites, highlighting the role of framework polarity and compensating cations positions. Under humid conditions, formaldehyde uptake was significantly decreased across all porous materials, with activated carbon outperforming others due to its relatively hydrophobic surface and resilience to competitive water adsorption. These findings underscore the critical influence of humidity and material properties on formaldehyde capture, offering guidance for the design of effective packaging for formaldehyde mitigation.
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BibTeX
@article{froehly2026humiditydependent,
title = {{Humidity-dependent formaldehyde adsorption on porous frameworks: A comparative study of MOFs, zeolites, and activated carbon}},
author = {Marie Froehly and Anaïs Becker and Gérald Chaplais and Stéphane Le Calvé and Vincent Roucoules and T Jean Daou},
journal = {Next Materials},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.nxmate.2026.102121},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05846159v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Humidity-dependent formaldehyde adsorption on porous frameworks: A comparative study of MOFs, zeolites, and activated carbon
AU - Marie Froehly
AU - Anaïs Becker
AU - Gérald Chaplais
AU - Stéphane Le Calvé
AU - Vincent Roucoules
AU - T Jean Daou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Next Materials
DO - 10.1016/j.nxmate.2026.102121
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05846159v1
AB - Formaldehyde is a pervasive pollutant with significant health implications, necessitating efficient mitigation strategies under realistic environmental conditions. This study investigates the formaldehyde scavenging performance of various porous materials such as zeolites (including FAU-type variants), metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and activated carbon at 2 ppm concentration and room temperature, both in dry air and at 50% relative humidity (RH). In the absence of humidity, Zeolite 13X exhibited the highest adsorption capacity, attributed to its high pore opening, high supercages diameter and hydrophilic character. A systematic decline in scavenging efficiency was observed with increasing Si/Al ratio among FAU-type zeolites, highlighting the role of framework polarity and compensating cations positions. Under humid conditions, formaldehyde uptake was significantly decreased across all porous materials, with activated carbon outperforming others due to its relatively hydrophobic surface and resilience to competitive water adsorption. These findings underscore the critical influence of humidity and material properties on formaldehyde capture, offering guidance for the design of effective packaging for formaldehyde mitigation.
SN - 2949-8228
ER -