Preparation and Characterisation of Sulfonic Acid-Functionalized Carbon/Loess Composite

Abstract

In this paper, a novel sulfonic acid-functionalized carbon/loess composite was prepared using sucrose as carbon source and loess as raw material. The characterization results shown that plenty of carbon particles distribute on the surface of the composite, and an abundant of SO3H groups were successfully introduced onto the surface of the prepared composite through incomplete carbonization of sucrose and sulfonation of carbon particles. The adsorption capacity of the prepared composite for typical heavy metal ions also was investigated and compared with activated carbon, the results show that the composite shows excellent adsorprion performance, and the adsorption capacity for Fe3+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, Ni2+can reach about 412%, 249%, 153%, 134% and 120% of the capacity of activated carbon, respectively. The prepared composite with excellent adsorption performance could be used as a low-cost alternative to activated carbon for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater.