Influence of Anodic Surface Treatment of Activated Carbon on Adsorption and Ion Exchange Properties

Activated carbon modified with copper for adsorption of propanethiol

Activated carbons were characterized texturally and chemically before and after treatment, using surface area determination in the BET model, Boehm titration, TPR, DRX and immersion calorimetry. The adsorption capacity and the kinetics of sulphur compound removal were determined by gas chromatography. It was established that the propanethiol retention capacity is dependent on the number of oxygenated groups generated on the activated carbon surface and that activated carbon modified with CuO at 0.25 M shows the highest retention of propanethiol. Additionally is proposed a mechanism of decomposition of propenothiol with carbon-copper system.

A study on NO removal of activated carbon fibers with deposited silver nanoparticles

In this study, activated carbon fibers (ACFs), onto which silver (Ag) nanoparticles have been introduced by an electroplating technique, were used to remove NO. Surface properties of the ACFs were determined by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. N2 adsorption isotherms at 77 K were investigated by BET and t-plot methods to characterize the specific surface areas and pore volumes, and NO removal efficiency was confirmed by a gas chromatographic technique. As for the experimental results, Ag content on the ACFs increased with plating time. However, adsorption properties such as the BET specific surface area and the total pore volume were somewhat decreased in the presence of Ag nanoparticles. NO removal efficiency of all Ag-ACFs was higher than that of untreated ACFs and increased with Ag content. However, a decrease in the extent of NO removal was shown in the excessively plated ACFs, which might be associated with the blocking of the micropores in the carbon; therefore, an optimal Ag content needs to exist in the presence of initially well-developed micropores to lead to an increase in the efficient NO removal ability of the ACF.

Effect of KOH Activation on the Formation of Oxygen Structure in Activated Carbons Synthesized from Polymeric Precursor

In this work, the influence of KOH activation on the surface chemistry of activated carbons (ACs) synthesized from polystyrene-based cation exchangeable resin (PSI) has been investigated. The surface chemistry of ACs has been characterized by using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), pH measurement, and Boehm's titration method. As a result, PSI can be successfully converted into ACs with high porosities. The total oxygen content on the ACs studied increases with increasing the KOH-to-PSI ratio. FT-IR and XPS analyses show that the resulting carbons possess a number of oxygen surface functional groups, such as carbonyl, quinone, phenol, ether, and carboxylic acid groups. The highest oxygen content and acid value are observed at a KOH-to-PSI ratio of 4 (KPS-4). However, its pH and surface basicity are higher than those of a KOH-to-PSI ratio of 2 (KPS-2), indicating the formation of basic species, such as quinone and pyrone groups. Although the oxygen-containing groups with basic character exist in the resulting carbons, all the samples are still acidic in character.

Pore Structure and Surface Properties of Chemically Modified Activated Carbons for Adsorption Mechanism and Rate of Cr(VI)

Effects of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide treatments of activated carbons (ACs) on chromium(VI) reduction were studied. The surface properties were determined by pH, acid-base values, FT-IR, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). And the porous structure of the activated carbons was characterized by adsorption of N(2)/77 K. The Cr(VI) adsorption experiments were carried out to analyze the influence of porous texture and surface properties changed by the chemical surface treatments of ACs on adsorption rate with carbon-solution contact time. From the experimental results, it was observed that the extent of adsorption and reduction processes depends on both microporous structure and functional groups. And the adsorption of Cr(VI) ion was more effective in the case of acidic treatment on activated carbons, resulting from the increases of acid value (or acidic functional group) of activated carbon surfaces. However, basic treatment on activated carbons was not significantly effective on the adsorption of Cr(VI) ion, probably due to the effects of the decrease of specific surface area and basic Cr(VI) in nature.