Chitosan-Derived Porous Activated Carbon for the Removal of the Chemical Warfare Agent Simulant Dimethyl Methylphosphonate

Abstract

Methods for the rapid removal of chemical warfare agents are of critical importance. In this work, a porous activated carbon material (C-PAC) was prepared from chitosan flakes via single-step potassium carbonate (K2CO3) activation for the prompt adsorption of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP). C-PAC samples were prepared using different carbonization temperatures (350, 550, and 750 °C) at a constant K2CO3/chitosan ratio (1:2) and using different activator ratios (K2CO3/chitosan ratios of 1:0.5, 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3) at 750 °C. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of preparation conditions on the adsorption capacities of the various C-PAC materials for DMMP under ambient conditions (25 °C). Notably, for the C-PAC material prepared at 750 °C using a K2CO3/chitosan ratio of 1:2, the DMMP adsorption was saturated at approximately 412 mg·g−1 carbon after 48 h. The good performance of this material makes it a potential candidate for use in remedial applications or protective gear.

Porous textile composites (PTCs) for the removal and the decomposition of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) – A review

“…Thanks to their high specific surface (usually > 2000 m 2 /g), activated carbons find a lot of applications involving adsorption process, such as air decontamination [69,70]. Since World War I and their use in protective mask [5], activated carbons have remained prototypical materials for the study of CWAs adsorption [22,71,72].…”

Highly Sensitive, Fast Response and Selective Glucose Detection Based on CuO/Nitrogen‐doped Carbon Non‐enzymatic Sensor

“…After heat treatment at 250 °C-650 °C, a marked change can be seen on the CuOÀ C structure. This may be due to the presence of CS, which is an attractive material for the synthesis of carbon materials [32][33][34]. Additionally, CS efficiently chelates transition metal ions due to the presence of À NH 2 and À OH groups in its molecular backbone [35].…”

Chitosan-Based Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Effective Trapping of the Nerve Agent Simulant Dimethyl Methylphosphonate

“…Furthermore, there have been several attempts to create non-molecularly imprinted polymers using chitosan as the base material. For example, Yu et al reported DMMP absorption of 412 mg/g after carbonizing chitosan and submerging it in pure DMMP for 48 h. However, the experimental conditions provided are not realistic and performed in a laboratory setting. By using pure DMMP, there is no data on the selectivity of the material, and by leaving it submerged for 48 h, the breakthrough is also unknown .…”

“…For example, Yu et al reported DMMP absorption of 412 mg/g after carbonizing chitosan and submerging it in pure DMMP for 48 h. However, the experimental conditions provided are not realistic and performed in a laboratory setting. By using pure DMMP, there is no data on the selectivity of the material, and by leaving it submerged for 48 h, the breakthrough is also unknown . By carbonizing the chitosan, the complete structure is different from the structure reported in this paper.…”