Activated carbons from bacterial cellulose by chemical activation with potassium hydroxide

In this study, bacterial cellulose (BC) was used as carbon source for preparing activated carbons. Activated carbon from BC was prepared in a one-step chemical activation process by using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as activating agent for 1 h. The influence of activation temperatures, 400, 500, 600 and 700 °C on the characteristics of active carbon was investigated. The activated carbons derived from BC were characterized for chemical property, structure and morphology by Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was shown that the activated carbons prepared from BC using KOH activation have high surface area and large pore volumes. Activated carbon with the highest surface area and pore volume was obtained at the carbonization temperature of 400-500 °C. It was found that the pore structure was destroyed with increasing activation temperature to 700 °C.