Microstructure and Oxygen Functional Groups on Modified Liquefied Wooden Activated Carbon Fibers with Hydrogen Peroxide

The aim of this study is to investigate changes in microstructure and oxygen functional groups of liquefied wood activated carbon fibers using density functional theory, FTIR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Samples were immersed with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at three concentrations (15, 20, and 25 wt%), three temperatures (90, 70, and 50 °C) for three periods of time (1, 2, and 3 h). The results reveals that the pores average radius narrow, and micropores turn into mesopores or macropores with the increasing process, which brings about the surface area of treated samples decrease. Numerous oxygen functional groups are observed in the treated samples, and the ratios of oxygen and carbon increase from 3.2% before treated to 14.7% with H2O2 modification. The results confirm that the average pore radius and surface area decrease during treatment due to concentration and temperature. What is more, oxygen functional groups increase significantly with increasing treatment concentration.