Lijuan Gao

Preparation and characterization of activated carbon foam from phenolic resin.

Activated carbon foam was successfully prepared from phenolic resin synthesized with phenol and formaldehyde under alkali condition. The influence of process variables, such as steam rate, carbonization temperature, carbonization time, activation temperature and activation time on the adsorption capacities of the activated carbon foam was studied. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the activated carbon foam with a specific surface area 727.62 m(2)/g was obtained. Moreover, the iodine value and carbon tetrachloride value of the activated carbon foam was 1050.28 mg/g and 401.37 mg/g, respectively. The pore size of the activated carbon foam was in the range of 3.5-5 nm which was determined through the N2 adsorption test. In addition, the yield of the activated carbon foam was 36.24%. The result of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the activated carbon foam became honeycomb structure, and its pore wall was thinner and smoother compared to the unactivated carbon foam.

Properties and micro-morphology of primary quinoline insoluble and mesocarbon microbeads

Mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB-1 and MCMB-2) were prepared by the thermal polymerization of medium coal tar pitch at the different atmosphere conditions. Primary quinoline insoluble (QI) was separated from medium coal tar pitch by extraction using the quinoline as the solvent. The distribution of diameter of QI and MCMBs were determined by Laser Particle Size Analyzer. FTIR combined with curve-fitted method, SEM and TEM have been used to study the difference of property and micro-morphology of QI and MCMBs. The thermo-stability has been characterized by TG/DTG analysis. The relationship between the content of ideal graphite carbon (Ig) and carbonization temperature of QI and MCMBs was researched by XRD analysis and curve-fitted method. The Ig and carbonization temperature of QI and MCMBs shows a good linear relationship.