Abstract: | The sorption capacity of activated carbon with respect to Cu2+ cations was found to be enhanced considerably upon its chemical modification with fullerenes and during its electron-beam
processing. It was discovered that introducing fullerenes (20 μg/g) into activated carbon leads to a change in the chemical
composition of its surface, due to changes in the system of conjugated bonds in activated carbon leading to an increase in
the content of Br?nsted acid (pK
a 0–5) and weakly base (pK
a 8–11) sites capable of cation exchange on the material surface. We conclude that electron-beam processing (optimal dose,
25–50 kGy) facilitates the rearrangement of bonds on the surface of activated carbon, thereby increasing the number of Lewis
base and Br?nsted acid sites capable of adsorbing metal ions in accordance with the donor-acceptor and cation-exchange mechanism,
respectively. |