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Owing to their high stability against corrosive gases, carbon-based adsorbents are preferentially used for the adsorptive removal of SO 2 . In the present study, SO 2 adsorption on different carbon nanomaterials namely carbon nanohorns (CNHs), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) are investigated and compared against the adsorption characteristics of activated carbon and graphene oxide (GO). A comprehensive overview of the adsorption behavior of this family of carbon adsorbents is given for the first time. The relative influence of surface area and functional groups on the SO 2 adsorption characteristics is discussed. The isosteric heat of adsorption values are calculated to quantify the nature of the interaction between the SO 2 molecule and the adsorbent. Most importantly, while chemisorption is found to dominate the adsorption behavior in activated carbon, SO 2 adsorption on carbon nanomaterials occurs by a physisorption mechanism.