Synthesis of porous sulfonated carbon as a potential adsorbent for phenol wastewater

The work reports a facile synthesis procedure for preparation of porous sulfonated carbons and its suitability for adsorption of phenol. The sulfonated carbon was synthesized utilizing a simplified, single-step, shorter duration process by sulfonation, dehydration and carbonization of sucrose in sulfuric acid and tetraethylorthosilicate. The surface and internal structures of the adsorbents were characterized utilizing various characterization techniques to understand the porous nature and surface functional groups of the porous matrix. Adsorption capacity was found to be highest for the sample heat treated at 600 °C, with the maximum adsorption capacity of 440 mg/g at 30 °C. The adsorption isotherms were tested with the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms models to identify the appropriate adsorption mechanism.