Facile Synthesis of Activated Carbon from Swamp Taro Stalk via Single Step ZnCl2 Activation

Abstract

In this work, mesoporous activated carbon with high surface area was synthesized from swamp taro stalk by single step ZnCl2 activation. The synthesized activated carbon was characterized by Na2S2O3 volumetric method, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and N2 adsorption-desorption analyses. Under the single step ZnCl2 activation, the registered iodine number, BET surface area, total pore volume and pore diameter were 1087.57 mgg-1, 1242.26 m2g-1, 0.73cm3g-1 and 3.72 nm respectively with yield of 25.34%. SEM analysis evidenced the well-formation of porous structure. Type IV isotherm with H2 loops obtained from N2-sorption studies indicates the ink bottles shape mesoporous network structure. This research proved the successful conversion of plant waste into high grade activated carbon.