Carbon structure and porosity of carbonaceous adsorbents in relation to their adsorption properties

A number of carbonaceous adsorbents were prepared by carbonisation at 600 d egrees C following acidic oxidation under various conditions. Effects of th e chemical nature of the precursor, such as the ratio of aromatic to alipha tic carbons and oxygen content, on the chemical and structural characterist ics of the resultant chars were investigated using C-13 NMR and Raman spect roscopy, respectively. The C-13 NMR spectral parameters of the coal samples show that as the severity of oxidation conditions increased, the ratio of aromatic to aliphatic carbons increased. Furthermore, it was also found tha t the amount of disorganised carbon affects both the pore structure and the adsorption properties of carbonaceous adsorbents. It is demonstrated that higher amount of the disorganised carbon indicates smaller micropore size. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.