Preparation of highly mesoporous wood-derived activated carbon fiber and the mechanism of its porosity development

Abstract Wood-derived activated carbon fibers (WACF) with large mesopore volumes have been developed, which were prepared only by H 3 PO 4 as the activator (WACF-P). By carefully controlling the H 3 PO 4 concentration at the 10% level and activation temperature at 700°C, the contribution of mesopore to the total pore volume of WACF reached 87%, which is much higher than those obtained in previous studies on ACF. The porosity development mechanism of WACF-P was interpreted based on the data of pore characteristics, crystallite structure, surface elemental constituents, and surface functional groups. The activation effect of H 3 PO 4 seems to be mainly relied on the enlargement of the existing defects in the fibers, which are developing to mesopores. Based on the large mesopore volume, the WACF-P have an excellent adsorption property for xylenol orange (XO). In general, the WACF-P are suitable for the adsorption of macromoleculses.