Preparation and characterization of polyurethane foam/activated carbon composite adsorbents

A polyurethane foam (PU)/activated carbon (AC) composite was prepared by adding granular AC during the synthesis of PU foam, and subsequent carbonization. Nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms and scanning electron microscopy were used to ascertain the pore structure and surface morphology of the samples. The prepared composite foams possess well-developed open cell structures. Under the conditions investigated, a higher carbonization temperature promoted development of porous structures. Thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analyses revealed the thermostability of the PU foam precursor/AC composites. The adsorption performance of the composites was evaluated using phenol, iodine and methylene blue (MB) as model compounds. A PU foam/AC composite with a maximum specific surface area of 655.0 m2/g, maximum iodine number of 525.2 mg/g, and maximum adsorption capacity of MB and phenol of 100 and 66.5 mg/g, respectively, was achieved.