Silver Loading Effect for the Activated Carbon Fibers Pre-treated with Acid

The adsorption isotherms of N2 onto the metallic silver treated activated carbon fiber samples after acid treatment are Type I with a small amount of capillary condensation hysteresis. Increasing amount of acid treatment leads to a decrease in SBETs and external surface area. But, micropore volume and average pore diameter are presented in constant regular values with increasing amount of sulfuric acid treatment. SEM observes the surface morphology and crystal grown state of metal on the fiber surface. The results of EDX of Ag-activated carbon fiber pre-treated with acid show the spectra corresponding to almost all samples rich in silver with increasing the amount of acid treated. The FT-IR spectra of Ag-activated carbon fiber show that the acid pre-treatment is consequently associated with the homogeneous dispersion of metal with the increased surface acidity of the activated carbon fiber. The type and quality of oxygen groups are determined with Boehm titration method. From the those results, a positive influence of the acidic groups on the carbon fiber surface by acid treatment is also demonstrated by an increase in the contents of metallic silver with increasing of acidic groups.