Protein-derived nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon for efficient adsorptive removal of heavy metals

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2018.11.017

Abstract

Abstract: A nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon has been synthesized employing egg white as a sustainable protein-rich precursor. According to CHNS elemental analysis, N, S and O heteroatoms accounted for mass fractions of 3.66%, 2.28% and 19.29% respectively, and the types of surface functionalities were further characterized by FT-IR and XPS measurements. Although the carbon possessed a smaller surface area (815 m²·g^-1) compared to a commercial activated carbon (1100 m²·g^-1), its adsorption capacity towards Co²⁺ reached 320.3 mg·g^-1, which was over 8 times higher compared to the limited 34.0 mg·g^-1 over the activate carbon. Furthermore, the carbon was found to be an efficient adsorbent towards a series of metal ions including VO²⁺, Cr³⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Cd²⁺. Combined with its environmental merits, the protein derived carbon may be a promising candidate for heavy metal pollution control.

Key words: Protein, Porous carbon, Heteroatoms, Adsorption, Heavy metal, Waste water

Yawei Shi, Wei Zheng, Hao Liu, Liang Wang, Hongwei Zhang. Protein-derived nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon for efficient adsorptive removal of heavy metals[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2019, 27(10): 2581-2586.

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