Preparation of mesoporous carbon from biomass for heavy metal ion adsorption

Mesoporous carbon (MC-S) has been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method by using cheap and nontoxic soluble starch as carbon precursor, Pluronic copolymer as soft templates. In the process of hydrothermal synthesis, the soluble starch can hydrolyze to give glucose, which can assemble with Pluronic copolymer through hydrogen bond interactions. Glucose further dehydrates and cross-links to form polymer networks. After carbonization of the polymer networks, MC-S can finally be obtained. The obtained MC-S has a specific surface area of 439 m2 g−1, uniform pore size of 4.5 nm as well as high oxygen content of 23.32%. The MC-S exhibits a good adsorption for heavy metal ions superior to FDU-15 due to the oxygen functional groups.