Highly porous carbons prepared via water-assisted mechanochemical treatment of cellulose-based materials followed by carbonization and mild activation.

A facile and eco-friendly mechanochemical treatment of cellulose-based materials, followed by carbonization and mild activation, was employed to obtain highly porous carbons. Potassium citrate (C 6 H 5 K 3 O 7) was used as a mild chemical activator and an endotemplate. To prevent any potential alteration of the pore characteristics of the resulting carbons, a simple washing with DI water was performed. As a result, the chemically activated carbon with a large volume of ultramicropores (0.37 cm3/g) showed a high CO 2 adsorption capacity of 4.2 mmol/g at 25 °C and a pressure of 1 bar. This paper presents a mechanochemical processing of cellulose-based materials, which can be utilized for advancing the preparation of carbon materials with high surface areas and enhanced porosity. [Display omitted] • Cellulose as a carbon precursor in mechanochemical process. • Mechanochemical synthesis of cellulose-derived microporous carbons. • High CO 2 uptake (4.2 mmol/g) of cellulose-derived carbons at 25 °C and 1 bar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]