International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon-based adsorbents are a broad class of materials including graphitic and amorphous carbons, and are widely used in different fields such as filtration, electrochemistry, purification and catalysis. However, the complexity of their structure and the variety of interactions occurring during the adsorption process generate a number of unexpected noteworthy chemical–physical phenomena. The deep understanding of these phenomena often results in remarkable unique applications. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a detailed description of the performance, characteristics, and unclear aspects of the most promising families of carbon-based materials.

The papers for this Special Issue should be focused mainly on advanced practical applications of carbon-based adsorbents such as graphitic carbons, graphene, carbon nanotubes, activated carbon fibers, and fullerene-based materials, excluding those obtained with active charcoals, on which a large body of literature is already available. Emphasis should be given to investigations on those aspects, such as adsorption (either in gas or liquid phases), catalysis, and functionalization processes, that can lead to original and challenging applications of carbon-based materials in fields such as advanced materials technologies, environmental applications, and separation and biological sciences, including more recent applications in space technologies. In this respect, papers reporting and discussing the performance of original devices made with these materials are welcome together with those discussing their physical–chemical characterization with different techniques. Papers dealing with modifications of carbon-based adsorbents (including electrochemical modulation) will also be included, as long as evidence is provided of their ease of use and economic benefit.

Prof. Dr. Carlo Crescenzi
Dr. Paolo Ciccioli
Guest Editors

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

17 pages, 1310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption of Nitrogen Dioxide on Nitrogen-Enriched Activated Carbons

by Aleksandra Bazan-Wozniak, Agnieszka Nosal-Wiercińska, Judyta Cielecka-Piontek, Selehattin Yilmaz and Robert Pietrzak

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(8), 4421; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084421 - 17 Apr 2024

Viewed by 345

Abstract

The aim of this study was to obtain nitrogen-enriched activated carbons from orthocoking coal. The initial material was subjected to a demineralisation process. The demineralised precursor was pyrolysed at 500 °C and then activated with sodium hydroxide at 800 °C. Activated carbon adsorbents were subjected to the process of ammoxidation using a mixture of ammonia and air at two different temperature variants (300 and 350 °C). Nitrogen introduction was carried out on stages of demineralised precursor, pyrolysis product, and oxidising activator. The elemental composition, acid-base properties, and textural parameters of the obtained carbon adsorbents were determined. The activated carbons were investigated for their ability to remove nitrogen dioxide. The results demonstrated that the ammoxidation process incorporates new nitrogen-based functional groups into the activated carbon structure. Simultaneously, the ammoxidation process modified the acid-base characteristics of the surface and negatively affected the textural parameters of the resulting adsorbents. Furthermore, the study showed that all of the obtained carbon adsorbents exhibited a distinct microporous texture. Adsorption tests were carried out against NO₂ and showed that the carbon adsorbents obtained were highly effective in removing this gaseous pollutant. The best sorption capacity towards NO₂ was 23.5 mg/g under dry conditions and 75.0 mg/g under wet conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon-Based Adsorbents: Working Mechanisms, Applications and New Devices)

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