A review of the adsorption of organic pollutants on mesoporous carbons and carbon/silica hybrids

This paper gives a brief review of the adsorption of organic pollutants on mesoporous carbons and carbon/silica hybrids prepared using soft and hard templating methods. These adsorbents include both pristine and modified ones such as metal-loaded, ammonia-treated, KMnO4-oxidized, CO2-activated, and octyl-grafted carbons and hybrids. The adsorbates cover small-molecule pollutants such as phenol, nitrosamine, nitrobenzene, 4-nitrophenol and 4-chlorophenol, and large-molecule pollutants such as cationic, anionic and non-ionic dyes, bisphenol A, humic acids and rhodamine B. Their adsorption mechanism and kinetics are analyzed. Applications of these mesoporous materials in the adsorption of large-molecule organic pollutants are highlighted.