A Mesoporous Сarbon Prepared by Сarbonizing Cu(II)–p-Phenylenediamine Polymer for the Adsorption of Methyl Orange from Water

A new mesoporous carbon containing nitrogen and copper was prepared by carbonizing a polymer obtained by blending p-phenylenediamine, copper(II) sulfate, and glyoxal. XRD and XPS showed the existence of Cu metal and Cu₂S, and XPS indicated the presence of nitrogen in the mesoporous carbon. The FT-IR spectra suggested that the material contains different functional groups, such as C=C and C=N. N₂ adsorption–desorption indicated the presence of mesopores in the material. The mesoporous carbon was used as an adsorbent to investigate the adsorption for methyl orange. Static equilibrium test results showed that the adsorption isotherm for methyl orange is in agreement with the langmuir isotherm, and the Q_m is 434 mg g^–1. Adsorption kinetics indicated that the pseudo-second order adsorption mechanism is predominant in the adsorption process.