Micropore-structured activated carbon prepared by waste PET/petroleum-based pitch

In this study, pitch crosslinked by oxygen function groups was made into activated carbon (AC) and pore structure was observed. The oxygen functional groups were introduced by the addition of waste PET for pitch synthesis. Activation agent ratios used to obtain the AC during the activation process were 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 (pitch:KOH, w/w). The oxygen content in the prepared pitch was characterized by elemental analysis. Also, the molecular weight of pitch was investigated by MALDI-TOF. Specific surface area and micropore volume of the prepared AC were determined by the argon adsorption–desorption analysis and calculated using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and Horvath–Kawazoe equations, respectively. Micropore fraction of PET-free AC was smaller than that of PET-added AC. At high activation agent ratio, mesopores were created when the micropore structure collapsed. However, in the PET-added AC, due to the oxygen crosslinking effect, the micropore structure and micropore size were maintained even at a high activation agent ratio. Therefore, PET AC was found to have a higher micropore fraction than that of PET-free AC.