Highly porous carbons prepared via water-assisted mechanochemical treatment of cellulose-based materials followed by carbonization and mild activation

Abstract

A facile and eco-friendly mechanochemical treatment of cellulose-based materials, followed by carbonization and mild activation, was employed to obtain highly porous carbons. Potassium citrate (C6H5K3O7) was used as a mild chemical activator and an endotemplate. To prevent any potential alteration of the pore characteristics of the resulting carbons, a simple washing with DI water was performed. As a result, the chemically activated carbon with a large volume of ultramicropores (0.37 cm3/g) showed a high CO2 adsorption capacity of 4.2 mmol/g at 25 °C and a pressure of 1 bar. This paper presents a mechanochemical processing of cellulose-based materials, which can be utilized for advancing the preparation of carbon materials with high surface areas and enhanced porosity.