Porous carbon materials based on biomass for acetone adsorption: Effect of surface chemistry and porous structure

Abstract

The relative influence of porous structure and functional groups of porous carbon materials for acetone adsorption is presented in this article. Here, we have successfully prepared oxygen and nitrogen doping porous carbons (ONPCs) by a hydrothermal method using waste tobacco stem as the carbon precursor and ethylenediamine as a nitrogen source. The resulting ONPCs have high specific surface (906–2940 m2 g−1) and chemical compositions (1.80–5.22% N and 5.81–11.77% O). This carbon shows high acetone adsorption capacity (i.e., 16.91 mmol g−1 at 25 °C and 18 kPa). The pore volume and specific surface area of ONPCs were found to be determinative factors for acetone adsorption at high pressure, and the introduction of oxygen and nitrogen into carbon surface can improve acetone adsorption at low pressure. Molecular simulations results suggest that adsorption capacity of acetone is improved at low pressure after doping of oxygen and nitrogen functional groups, but equilibrium adsorption capacity is unchanged. This is in good agreement with the experimental results that these functional groups are primarily responsible for the materials’ low-pressure acetone adsorption capacity. This work provides insights into material design and further development for acetone adsorption.