Preparation and characterization of activated carbons from poplar wood (Populus L.)

Abstract In this study, the residues of poplar wood were used to produce activated carbons by chemical activation. In chemical activation, K 2 CO 3 and Na 2 CO 3 were used as activating agents. Chemical activation was carried out by mixing the solutions of K 2 CO 3 or Na 2 CO 3 and poplar wood with the impregnation ratio (gram chemical agent/gram poplar wood) of 1/1, 2/1 and 3/1. The carbonization treatment was performed at 800 and 900 °C under nitrogen flow. After carbonization, the samples were washed with hot distilled water. The pore properties of the activated carbons including the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET) surface area, pore volume, pore size distribution and average pore diameter were determined by physical adsorption of N 2 at − 196 °C using the BET, t ‐plot and density functional theory(DFT) methods. The highest surface areas of activated carbons are 1579 and 1596 m 2 /g and the total pore volumes are 0.8859 and 0.8296 cm 3 /g for Na 2 CO 3 and K 2 CO 3 , respectively. The microstructure of the activated carbons prepared was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface functional groups were determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. This study showed that high surface area activated carbons can be prepared from the chemical activation of poplar with K 2 CO 3 and Na 2 CO 3 as activating agents. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.