Tailoring the surface chemistry and porosity of activated carbons: evidence of reorganization and mobility of oxygenated surface groups Vivo Vílches, José Francisco Bailón García, Esther Pérez Cadenas, Agustín Francisco Carrasco Marín, Francisco Maldonado Hodar, Francisco José An activated carbon with developed porosity and surface area (SBET = 2387 m2 g−1) was prepared by chemical activation and then oxidized with ammonium peroxydisulfate. The oxidation treatment destroyed mesopore walls leading to a severe surface area reduction. Specific thermal treatments were carried out in different portions of the oxidized sample to selectively remove the oxygenated surface complexes. The combination of different techniques revealed that thermal treatment between 300 and 500 °C produces a strong reorganization of oxygenated groups on the chemical structure of carbons. CO2-evolving groups (around 75 wt.%) are selectively transformed into CO-evolving groups. These processes only occur inside the pores, and involve CO2 desorption and re-adsorption in this temperature range. At a higher treatment temperature (700 °C), re-oxidation is prevented and the surface chemistry becomes quite similar to the original activated carbon. 2025-01-28T10:36:38Z 2025-01-28T10:36:38Z 2013-11-13 journal article Carbon 68, 2014, Pages 520-530 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/100708 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2013.11.030 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ embargoed access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional