An activation-free route to porous magnetic carbon adsorbents for the removal of phenolic compounds

Magnetic composite carbon xerogels were synthesized via acidic gelation of resorcinol and furfural in the presence of carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles with subsequent carbonization of the as-obtained magnetic organic xerogel.

Fast Removal of Co2+ and Ni2+ from Aqueous Solution Using Partial Carbonized Nanoporous Resin

Partial carbonized nanoporous resin (PCNR-150), based on organic xerogel compounds, was prepared at 150 ºC by sol–gel method from pyrogallol and formaldehyde mixtures in water using perchloric acid as catalyst. The PCNR-150 was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nitrogen porosimetry. The metal uptake characteristics were explored using well-established and effective parameters including pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration, and temperature. Optimum adsorptions of Co2+ and Ni2+, using PCNR-150 as adsorbent, were observed at pH 5 and 7, respectively. Langmuir model gave a better fit than the other models, and kinetic studies revealed that the adsorption is fast and its data are well fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and thermodynamic properties, i.e., ΔGo, ΔHo, and ΔSo, showed that adsorption of Co2+ and Ni2+ onto PCNR-150 was endothermic, spontaneous and feasible in the temperature range of 300–328 K.