A series of activated carbons with different degrees of activation were oxi
dized with H2O2, (NH4)(2)S2O8 and HNO3 in order to introduce different oxyg
en surface complexes. Changes in the surface chemistry of the activated car
bons after their oxidizing treatments were studied by different techniques
including temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray photoelectron spec
troscopy (XPS), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), titration
s with HCl and NaOH, measurements of the pH of the point of zero charge and
catalytic dehydration of methanol. Results showed that treatment with (NH4
)(2)S2O8 fixed the lowest amount of both total oxygen and surface acid grou
ps. However, this treatment yielded the acid groups with the highest acid s
trength. This could be because it favors fixation of carboxyl groups close
to other groups, such as carbonyl and hydroxyl, which enhances their acidit
y. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.