Facile Fabrication of Multilayer Chemical Filters Based on Modified Activated Carbon and Activated Carbon Fiber Nonwovens for Airborne Molecular Contaminant Removal in Semiconductor Manufacturing
- 1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
- 2Origin Advanced Materials Corporation, Taipei 10557, Taiwan
Abstract
In this study, high-performance chemical filters were developed by combining surface-modified activated carbon with activated carbon fiber (ACF) nonwoven layers to improve the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and acidic/basic gases. Activated carbon was modified using ammonium hydroxide, formic acid, and nitric acid, and the resulting pore structure, surface morphology, and functional groups were characterized using BET, FE-SEM, and XPS analyses. AC-NH4OH exhibited a favorable microporous structure and high specific surface area, and exhibited the best adsorption performance toward toluene, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and acetic acid, whereas AC-HNO3 showed the best performance toward ammonia, possibly associated with changes in its surface functional groups. The modified activated carbon was further incorporated into chemical filters with nonwoven fabrics and adhesive. Because increasing adhesive content reduced adsorption performance through surface coverage and pore blockage, 5 wt% adhesive was selected as the preferred formulation among the adhesive-containing samples investigated. The optimized filters outperformed a commercial chemical filter for all tested gases. The incorporation of ACF provided additional microporous adsorption sites, and a single ACF layer improved the effective removal time for toluene and IPA by approximately 10.5% and 14.7%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of integrating surface-modified activated carbon with ACF nonwoven layers to enhance gaseous pollutant removal for airborne molecular contaminant control in semiconductor manufacturing.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026facile,
title = {{Facile Fabrication of Multilayer Chemical Filters Based on Modified Activated Carbon and Activated Carbon Fiber Nonwovens for Airborne Molecular Contaminant Removal in Semiconductor Manufacturing}},
author = {Jia-Wun Li and Chia-Lin Li and Jen-Kai Yang and Jung-Feng Chang and Yu-Heng Liao and Chih-Wei Chiu},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212774},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2774},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Facile Fabrication of Multilayer Chemical Filters Based on Modified Activated Carbon and Activated Carbon Fiber Nonwovens for Airborne Molecular Contaminant Removal in Semiconductor Manufacturing
AU - Jia-Wun Li
AU - Chia-Lin Li
AU - Jen-Kai Yang
AU - Jung-Feng Chang
AU - Yu-Heng Liao
AU - Chih-Wei Chiu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212774
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2774
AB - In this study, high-performance chemical filters were developed by combining surface-modified activated carbon with activated carbon fiber (ACF) nonwoven layers to improve the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and acidic/basic gases. Activated carbon was modified using ammonium hydroxide, formic acid, and nitric acid, and the resulting pore structure, surface morphology, and functional groups were characterized using BET, FE-SEM, and XPS analyses. AC-NH4OH exhibited a favorable microporous structure and high specific surface area, and exhibited the best adsorption performance toward toluene, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and acetic acid, whereas AC-HNO3 showed the best performance toward ammonia, possibly associated with changes in its surface functional groups. The modified activated carbon was further incorporated into chemical filters with nonwoven fabrics and adhesive. Because increasing adhesive content reduced adsorption performance through surface coverage and pore blockage, 5 wt% adhesive was selected as the preferred formulation among the adhesive-containing samples investigated. The optimized filters outperformed a commercial chemical filter for all tested gases. The incorporation of ACF provided additional microporous adsorption sites, and a single ACF layer improved the effective removal time for toluene and IPA by approximately 10.5% and 14.7%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of integrating surface-modified activated carbon with ACF nonwoven layers to enhance gaseous pollutant removal for airborne molecular contaminant control in semiconductor manufacturing.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -