Trapping at the Solid–Gas Interface: Selective Adsorption of Naphthalene by Montmorillonite Intercalated with a Fe(III)–Phenanthroline Complex

In this study, stable hybrid materials (Mt-Fe(III)Phen), made by the μ-oxo Fe(III)-phenanthroline complex [(OH 2 ) 3 (Phen)FeOFe(Phen)(OH 2 ) 3 ] 4+ (Fe(III)Phen) intercalated in different amounts into montmorillonite (Mt), were used as a trap for immobilizing gaseous benzene and naphthalene and their mono chloro-derivatives at 25 and 50 °C. The entrapping process was studied through elemental analysis, magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and evolved gas mass spectrometry. Naphthalene and 1-chloronaphthalene were found to be immobilized in large amount at both temperatures. Molecular modeling allowed designing of the structure of the interlayer in the presence of the immobilized aromatic molecules. Adsorption is affected by the amount of the Fe complex hosted in the interlayer of the entrapping hybrid materials. On the contrary, under the same conditions, benzene and chlorobenzene were not adsorbed. Thermal desorption of naphthalenes was obtained under mild conditions, and immobilization was found to be reversible at least for 20 adsorption/desorption cycles.