Modification of sugar-based carbon using lanthanum and cobalt bimetal species for effective adsorption of methyl orange

Abstract

Herein, an economical sugar-based carbon synthesized in the previous study was modified using lanthanum and cobalt bimetal species by a simple method for the first time. The obtained adsorbent named La/Co-SC was analyzed using some classical characterization techniques. Results obtained indicate that the specific surface area and pore volume of the La/Co-SC are higher than the original sugar-based carbon (SC). Additionally, the La/Co-SC exhibits an excellent adsorption performance with methyl orange (MO), which is about 2.5 times better than the original SC. Further investigations reveal that the adsorption process is endothermic and it obeyed the pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. Moreover, the La/Co-SC shows a good regeneration ability, indicating its great potential as an economical and environmental-friendly adsorbent. • Sugar-based carbon was doped by lanthanum and cobalt species for the first time. • Specific surface area of materials was increased significantly after metal doping. • Adsorption performance of the La/Co co-doped porous carbon is quite excellent. • Adsorption capacity remained considerable even after multiple regenerations.