Katarzyna Jedynak

Organic acid-assisted soft-templating synthesis of ordered mesoporous carbons

A series of soft-templated ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) was synthesized by using resorcinol and formaldehyde as carbon precursors, triblock copolymer Pluronic F127 as a soft-template, and an organic acid (acetic, benzoic, citric, oxalic, or succinic) as a polymerization reaction catalyst. The aforementioned organic acids were strong enough to facilitate the formation of ordered mesophases by the block copolymer template used and to catalyze the polymerization reaction of resorcinol and formaldehyde in this template. The use of weak organic acids instead of strong inorganic acids such as HCl eliminated inorganic anions from the reaction environment and resulted in high surface area OMCs. Basically, the resulting carbons showed the surface areas and pore volumes comparable to those reported for the carbons prepared under similar conditions but in the presence of strong inorganic acids. Electron microscopy analysis proved the presence of ordered mesopores, whereas thermogravimetric analysis showed a good thermal stability of these carbons.

Investigation of mesoporous carbon materials by magnetic solid phase extraction of selected phthalates from water samples

In the present work ordered mesoporous carbon materials soft templating-acidic (STA) were applied as adsorbents in magnetic solid phase extraction technique for isolation of selected phthalates from water samples. STA materials were obtained by soft-templating method in acidic environment. Nickel nanoparticles were added on the STA synthesis stage, thus the obtained material acquired magnetic properties. The analysis of phthalates after the extraction was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Fast and easy procedure was elaborated, obtaining recoveries close to 90% for some phthalates.

Removal of selected phthalates from aqueous solution by mesoporous-ordered carbon adsorbent

In the present work adsorption of selected phthalates from the water samples on mesoporous carbon material was investigated. Carbon material was obtained by soft-templating method in the presence of citric acid. Adsorption process of phthalates was carried out from water solution using static method with sonication for process acceleration. Phthalates extraction from water phase, after adsorption on carbon material, was carried out using solid phase microextraction method. Extracted samples were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry method. Considering obtained experimental results it can be indicated that almost 100% of phthalates were adsorbed from water solutions. The efficiency of adsorption decreases with increasing molecular weight of phthalates.