Preparation and characterization of mesoporous carbons from different sources for adsorption of diclofenac compound from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Mesoporous carbon (MC) has attracted increasing attention, due to its unique properties, such as extraordinary chemical, mechanical, and thermal stability, and wide abundance in nature. Nowadays, the widespread applications of MCs in areas, such as supercapacitors, chemical sensors, catalyst supports, fuel cells and separation sorbents, have encouraged researchers to synthesize porous carbons with high mesoporous volume proportions and a high specific surface area (SSA). Therefore, it is important to develop reliable methods for the preparation of MCs with controllable porosity, together with high SSA and large pore volume. In the past decades, numerous carbon resources, such as fossil-based hydrocarbons (e.g., bituminous coal, lignite), biomass (e.g., glucose, cellulose, lignin and wood), and polymers, have been utilized for the preparation of MCs. In particular, biomass including cellulose, lignin, and their platform molecules, provides an abundant feedstock for the preparation of carbon materials. Due to the presence of plentiful oxygen in the biomass resource, the carbons derived from biomass generally contain oxygen-containing groups, which may provide the carbons with specific functions. Thus, the preparation of porous carbons from biomass has attracted significant attention. For the preparation of porous carbon materials, porogens, such as surfactants salts and their