Smoking article with mercaptopropyl functionalized sorbent and method

摘要

Mercaptopropyl functionalized molecular sieves such as mesoporous SBA-15 silica molecular sieves can be prepared via incipient-wetness impregnation of (3-mercaptopropyl)triethoxysilane of up to a loading of about 15 mole %. The functionalized materials are more hydrophobic than parent material, and can be used as adsorbents to reduce the concentration of heavy metal (mercury and/or cadmium-containing) constituents in mainstream smoke. For example, SBA-15 silica comprising a 1% molar loading of mercaptopropyl groups has an adsorption capacity for mercury that is approximately seven to eight times that of un-functionalized parent SBA-15 silica.