• Carbon letters
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2013

Physically and chemically activated carbons (ACs) exhibited high adsorption capacities for organic and inorganic pollutants compared with other adsorbents due to their expanded surface areas and wide pore volume distribution. In this work, seven steam-ACs with different burn-off have been prepared from cotton stalks. The textural properties of these sorbents were determined using nitrogen adsorption at $-196^{\circ}C$. The chemistry of the surface of the present sorbents was characterized by determining the surface functional C-O groups using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, surface pH, $pH_{pzc}$, and Boehm's acid-base neutralization method. The textural properties and the morphology of the sorbent surface depend on the percentage of burn-off. The surface acidity and surface basicity are related to the burn-off percentage. A theoretical model was developed to find a mathematical expression that relates the % burn-off to ash content, surface area, and mean pore radius. Also, the chemistry of the carbon surface is related to the % burn-off. A mathematical expression was proposed where % burn-off was taken as an independent factor and the other variable as a dependent factor. This expression allows the choice of the value of % burn-off with required steam-AC properties.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1821-1826
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• 2014

The adsorption characteristics of the methylene blue (MB) were studied using three activated carbons such as ACA and ACB with similar specific surface area (1,185 and $1,105m^2/g$), and ACC with relatively high specific surface area ($1,760m^2/g$). The surface chemical properties of these activated carbons were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that ACA had more functional groups (with phenol, carbonyl, and carboxyl etc.) than ACB (with carbonyl and carboxyl) and ACC (with carboxyl). The isotherm data were fitted well by Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption capacities of ACA, ACB, and ACC for MB were 454.7 mg/g, 337.7 mg/g, and 414.0 mg/g, respectively. As phenol and carboxyl content of the surface on activated carbon increased, MB adsorption capacity was increased. Although ACA had a smaller specific surface area than ACC, the content of phenol and carboxyl group was abundant, so MB adsorption capacity was found to be higher than ACC.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.174-184
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• 1997

Activated carbons were prepared from palm chars by steam activation. The effect of the activation temperature and time, steam concentration and flux on the n -butane adsorption properties were investigated on the basis of surface area, pore analysis and n-butane adsorption. The amount of n -butane adsorption increased with steam concentration and steam flux at higher activation temperature to the $900^{\circ}C$, however this tendancy on the activated carbons were not observed at the temperature above $900^{\circ}C$, It was shown that surface area was 978 $\textrm{m}^2$/g, average pore size was 9.3 $\AA$ and n-butane adsorption was 5.9 g /100ml in the activated carbons, prepared at $900^{\circ}C$, 185 minutes.

• Carbon letters
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• v.2 no.3_4
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• pp.176-181
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• 2001

A series of activated carbons were prepared from coconut shells and coal-tar pitch binder by physical activation with steam in this study. The effect of variable processes such as activation temperature, activation time and ratio of mixing was investigated for optimizing those preparation parameters. The activation processes were carried out continuously. The nitrogen adsorption isotherms at 77 K on pellet-shaped activated carbons show the same trend of Type I by IUPAC classification. The average pore sizes were about 19-21${\AA}$. The specific surface areas ($S_{BET}$) of pellet typed ACs increased with increasing the activation temperature and time. Specific surface area of AC treated for 90 min at temperature $900^{\circ}C$ was 1082 $m^2/g$. The methylene blue numbers continuously increased with increasing the activation temperature and time. On the other hand, iodine numbers highly increased till activation time of 60 min, but the rate of increase of iodine numbers decreased after that time. This indicates that new micropores were created and the existing micropores turned into mesopores and macropores because of increased reactivity of carbon surface and $H_2O$.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2011

In this study, we used activated carbon (AC) and charcoal (CH) as carbon sources with $TiO_2$ powder to prepare spherical carbons containing titania (SCCT) by using phenolic resin (PR) as a bonding agent. The physicochemical characteristics of the SCCT samples were examined by BET, XRD, SEM, EDX, iodine adsorption and compressive strength. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by measuring the removal efficiency of three kinds of organic dyes: methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (Rh.B) under a UV/SCCT system. In addition, evaluation of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of piggery waste was done at regular intervals and gave a good idea about the mineralization of wastewater.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1463-1471
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• 2015

The surface modified activated carbons (SMACs) were prepared with various $P_2O_5$ concentrations using two activated carbons (ACs: waste citrus peel-based activated carbon and coconut-based activated carbon). The characteristics and adsorptivity of bisphenol A (one of phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals) were compared between ACs and SMACs. The contents of C, H and N of SMACs were similar to those of ACs, but the content of $P_2O_5$ for the former increased greatly than for the latter, due to the impregnation of $P_2O_5$ into the pores. The specific surface area, total pore volume, average pore diameter and iodine adsorptivity for the former decreased due to the impregnation of $P_2O_5$ into the pores, compared to those for the latter. The adsorptivity of bisphenol A for the former were higher than that for the latter, although specific surface area, total pore volume, average pore diameter and iodine adsorptivity for the former were lower than those for the latter.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.2423-2430
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• 2014

Nitrogen-doped short tubular carbons (N-STCs) with big inner diameter have been successfully synthesized via carbonization of polydopamine (PDA) wrapped halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). The obtained N-STCs have average length of $0.3{\mu}m$ with big inner diameter (50 nm), thin wall (2-3 nm) and large surface area ($776m^2g^{-1}$), and show excellent electrochemical properties. As an example in electrochemical applications, N-STCs were used to electrochemically detect hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) and glucose. The results showed that the N-STCs modified glassy carbon (N-STCs/GC) electrode had much better analytical performance (lower detection limit and wider linear range) compared to the acid-treated carbon nanotubes (AO-CNTs) based GC electrode. The unique structure endows N-STCs the enhanced electrochemical performance and promising applications in electrochemical sensing.

• Carbon letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.275-282
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• 2008

Chemically activated carbons were prepared from maize cobs, using phosphoric acid of variable concentration. The textural parameters of the activated carbons were determined from the nitrogen adsorption isotherms measured at 77 K. The chemistry of the carbon surface was determined by measuring the surface pH, the pHPZC and the concentration of the carbon - oxygen groups of the acid type on the carbon surface. Kinetics of Cr(VI) sorption/reduction was investigated at 303 K. Two processes were investigated in terms of kinetics and equilibrium namely; Cr(VI) removal and chromium sorption were studied at various initial pH (1-7). Removal of Cr(VI) shows a maximum at pH 2.5. At pH<2.5, sorption decreases because of the proton competition with evolved Cr(III) for ion exchange sites. The decrease of sorption at pH>2.5 is due to proton insufficiency and to the decrease of the extent of Cr(VI) reduction. The chemistry of the surface of activated carbon is an important factor in determining its adsorption capacity from aqueous solutions particularly when the sorption process involves ion exchange.

• Carbon letters
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2006

The objective of this paper is to compare the variation of surface properties by hydrochloric acid pre-treatment and of metallic potassium and their salts loading effect for activated carbon after surfaces transformation by acid. From the results of nitrogen adsorption, each isotherm shows a distinct knee band, which is closely related to the characteristic of microporous carbons with capillary condensation in micropores. In order to present the causes of the differences in surface properties and $S_{BET}$ after the samples were treated with hydrochloric acid, pore structure and surface morphology are investigated by adsorption analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate that activated carbons show better performance for metallic potassium and potassium salts by pre-treatment with hydrochloric acid. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) pictures of potassium/activated carbon particles provide information about the homogeneous distribution of metal or metal complex on the surface. For the chemical composition microanalysis for potassium treatment of the activated carbon pre-treated with hydrochloric acid, samples were analyzed by energy disperse X-ray (EDX). Finally, the type and quality of oxygen groups are determined from the method proposed by Boehm. A positive influence of the acidic groups on the carbon surface by acid treatment is also demonstrated by an increase in the contents of potassium salts with increasing of acidic groups calculated from Boehm titration.

• Carbon letters
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2003

The specific adsorption behaviors of activated carbons (ACs) treated with 30 wt% $H_3PO_4$ or NaOH were investigated in the removals of NO or $NH_3$. The acid and base values were determined by Boehm's titration method. And, the surface properties of ACs were studied by FT-IR and XPS analyses. Also, $N_2/77K$ adsorption isotherm characteristics, including the specific surface area and micropore volume were studied by BET and t-plot methods, respectively. From the adsorption tests of NO and $NH_3$, it was revealed in the case of acidic treatment on ACs that the $NH_3$ removal was more effective due to the increase of acidic functional groups in carbon surfaces. Also, the NO removal was increased, in the case of basic treatment, due to the improvement of basic functional groups, in spite of significant decreases of BET's specific surface area and total pore volume. It was found that the adsorption capacity of ACs was not only determined by the textural characteristics but also correlated with the surface functional groups in the acid-base intermolecular interactions.