Activated carbons synthesized from sucrose using porous clay heterostructures as template for CO2 adsorption

Abstract

In this work we have analyzed the synthesis of microporous materials using sucrose as carbon source and porous clay heterostructures as template to promote a hierarchical organization of pores, which is a novelty in the synthesis of carbonaceous materials. The study comprises the evaluation of the synthesis conditions such as the addition of a base (KOH) or the variation of the pyrolysis temperature (600, 750 and 900 °C). The studied materials were characterized via X ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy, gas adsorption, Attenuated Total Reflectance, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Additionally, the performance of the synthesized adsorbents in terms of CO₂ uptake at three temperatures (0, 25 and 45 °C) was assessed and compared with similar materials reported in the literature. The results suggested by and large that the use of the base and the highest pyrolysis temperature (900 °C) during the synthesis enhances the CO₂ adsorption at the different evaluated temperatures. Nonetheless, it is at the lowest pyrolysis temperature i.e., 600 °C, where one can observe a more accentuated superior performance of the material synthesized with base than that obtained without the addition of KOH.