Nitric acid oxidation on carbon dispersion and suspension stability

In this study, we have investigated the effect of nitric acid oxidation on the dispersion and suspension stability of activated carbon powder. We treated activated carbon powder with nitric acid at different concentrations. We measured the content of functional groups, the zeta potential and the powder particle size of the activated carbon powder with the Boehm titration, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, a zeta potential analyzer, and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that with the increase of nitric acid molar concentration, the content of acid functional groups increased, whereas the content of alkali functional groups decreased. At a nitric acid concentration of 10 mol/l, the surface‐modified activated carbon powder displays features such as the highest functional group content and zeta potential value, the smallest particle size, and the best dispersion and suspension stability in the solution. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.