A Novel Strategy to Prepare Hierarchically Porous Phenolic Resin-Based Carbon Aerogel With Excellent Adsorption Performance

Carbon aerogel (CA), derived from phenolic (resorcinol and formaldehyde) resin, has being regarded as a promising porous adsorbent for water purification. In this study, we provided an effective strategy for preparing CA with a hierarchical porous microstructure. Acetic acid was introduced as an additive in the precursor solution to modify the microstructure of the xerogel, followed by KOH activation to further transform it into a hierarchical porous structure. The specific surface area of the hierarchical porous CA reached up to 1205.44 m2/g with a total pore volume exceeding 1.60 cm3/g. Consequently, the CA demonstrated an excellent adsorption rate, reaching adsorption equilibrium in approximately 240 min and exhibited a remarkable maximum dye adsorption capacity of 1.25 times its own mass. Furthermore, the adsorption processes of the CA for dye adhered to the second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model. This study provided an effective approach to preparing hierarchical porous CA for efficient adsorption of organic pollutants for water purification.