Abstract
Activated carbons (AC) with excellent textural properties have been obtained for the first time from waste polystyrene foam (PF), without any previous treatment, following a simple and conventional two-step procedure (formation of char followed by chemical activation). Even considering that the PF is not a graphitizable material, the best AC produced from this precursor has a very high BET surface area larger than 2700 m2 g−1 and a pore volume of 1.2 cm2 g−1, with a significant contribution of small mesopores. As a consequence, this AC reveals a surprising capacity to adsorption of relatively large molecules and a high specific capacitance when applied as a supercapacitor electrode. The maximum amount of adsorbed methylene blue obtained by batch equilibrium experiments are greater than 1 g g−1. In the context of the technical difficulties and low economic return of the reuse and recycling of waste PF, this work offers a strategic destination for this environmentally unfriendly residue.
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