A series of pitch-based spherical activated carbons (PSAC) were prepared by chemical activation with ZnCl2. The influence of activation process variables on the pore structures of PSAC was studied in order to optimize these parameters and establish the relationships between the activation conditions and porous textures of the resulting carbons. The results show that PSAC with high yield and surface area could be prepared using ZnCl2 as activating agent. The most important parameters in chemical activation were found to be activation temperature (T) and chemical ratio of ZnCl2 to pitch spheres (R), which have remarkable influence on porosity of PSAC, whereas the holding time does a relatively milder influence.
展开▼