ABSTRACT
Nitrogen doped nanoporous activated carbon (N-NPAC) was prepared via the facile and effective KOH activation method using Zizania latifolia (ZL), a common Chinese aquatic vegetable, as the raw material. The biomass derived N-NPAC exhibited high content of nitrogen (18.4 at%), large surface area (1493.4 m²/g) and abundant nanopores. The unique physical-chemical structure endows the N-NPAC with great application potential in adsorbents. The performance of the N-NPAC for the adsorptive removal of bisphenol A (BPA) was studied. The results showed the adsorption processes were barely affected by solution pH. The adsorption kinetics are well-fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the adsorption isotherms followed the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity calculated by the Langmuir isotherm model is 555.5 mg/g at 313 K, demonstrating the promise of the N-NPAC for the application in water cleanup. This study provides an example using the inexpensive and abundantly available biomass as the raw materials for the large scale production of nanocarbons and paves an avenue for the development of bio-derived nanomaterials.
