Activated carbon derived from chitin aerogels: preparation and CO₂ adsorption

Activated carbon was prepared by carbonization and KOH activation of chitin aerogels. The resulting carbon featured high CO₂ adsorption of 5.02 mmol/g at 0 °C and 3.44 mmol/g at 25 °C under ambient pressure of 1 atm. The activated carbon showed a high specific surface area of ~ 520 m²/g, total pore volume of 0.30 cm³/g, and volume of micropores of ~ 0.19 cm³/g. KOH activation of carbonized chitin aerogels resulted in about 37-fold increase in the specific surface area and about 95-fold increase in the volume of micropores as compared to the as-synthesized chitin aerogel. These data indicate that the chitin-derived activated carbon can be used for adsorption-based environmental and related applications.