Tunable Polarity Carbon Fibers, a Holistic Approach to Environmental Protection

View/ Open
Author
García-Valverde, María Teresa
Ledesma Escobar, Carlos Augusto
Lucena, Rafael
Cárdenas, Soledad
Publisher
MDPIDate
2018Subject
Carbon fibersPolarity
Sorption
METS:
Mostrar el registro METSPREMIS:
Mostrar el registro PREMISMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The pollution of environmental resources is an issue of social concern worldwide.
Chemistry is essential for the design of decontamination strategies and analytical approaches to
detect and monitor the contamination. Sorptive materials are usually required in both approaches
and green synthesis should be used to minimize their own environmental impact. Carbon fibers (CFs)
obtained by the pyrolysis of natural cellulose-rich materials fulfill these requirements. In this article,
thirty CFs obtained under different conditions are chemically characterized and their sorption ability
towards selected pollutants, covering a wide range of polarity, is evaluated. This study provides
more profound knowledge related to the polarity of these materials, their interactions with chemical
substances and allows the prediction of more appropriate materials (pyrolysis temperature and time)
in order to remove the given pollutant. Furthermore, the use of CFs as sorptive materials for the
extraction of contaminants from water samples to assist with their instrumental detection is outlined.
In this sense, the use of CFs and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection allows the
detection of selected pollutants in the low ng/mL range. Thus, this article provides an integrated
approach to the potential of CFs for environmental protection