Disassembly of lignocellulose into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin for preparation of porous carbon materials with enhanced performances

Lignocellulose is the primary component of many biomasses, including corn straw. Herein, lignocellulose in corn straw was disassembled into the individual polymers, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin via a mild and facile method. Subsequently, three porous carbon materials were prepared by carbonization and chemical activation of cellulose (PCCC), hemicellulose (PCHC), and lignin (PCLC). The three materials showed higher specific surface areas (2565.7, 2996.1, and 2590.3 m2 g−1) and higher porosities (1.4261, 1.5876, and 1.2406 cm3 g−1) than that of PCCS, a porous carbon material derived from raw corn straw (1993 m2 g−1 and 1.19 cm3 g−1). Of note, PCCC and PCHC exhibited higher adsorption (1025.5 and 950.1 mg g−1) of brilliant green (BG), than PCCS (876.7 mg g−1). Besides, the BG adsorption capacities of the designed materials were higher than that of most adsorbents, and 2–2.5 times higher than that of graphite oxide (416.7 mg g−1). These study results indicate that the disassembly of lignocellulosic biomass into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin is an effective strategy for preparing various porous carbon materials with enhanced performances.