Kaewtrakulchai Napat, Faungnawakij Kajornsak, Eiad-Ua Apiluck
King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, College of Nanotechnology, Bangkok 10520, Thailand.
National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
Materials (Basel). 2020 Jun 26;13(12):2876. doi: 10.3390/ma13122876.
Oil palm male flowers (PMFs), an abundant agricultural waste from oil palm plantation in Thailand, have been utilized as an alternative precursor to develop nanoporous carbons (NPCs) via microwave-assisted pyrolysis combined potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation. The influences of relevant processing variables, such as activating agent ratio, microwave power, and activation time on the specific pore characteristics, surface morphology, and surface chemistry of PMFs derived nanoporous carbons (PMFCs) have been investigated to explore the optimum preparation condition. The optimum condition under a microwave radiation power of 700 W, activation holding time of 6 min, and activating agent ratio of 2:1 obtained the PMFC with the highest Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and total pore volume approximately of 991 m/g and 0.49 cm/g, composed of a carbon content of 74.56%. Meanwhile, PMFCs have a highly microporous structure of about 71.12%. Moreover, activating agent ratio and microwave radiation power indicated a significant influence on the surface characteristics of PMFCs. This study revealed the potential of oil palm male flowers for the NPCs' production via microwave-assisted KOH activation with a short operating-time condition.
油棕雄花（PMFs）是泰国油棕种植园产生的大量农业废弃物，已被用作替代前驱体，通过微波辅助热解结合氢氧化钾（KOH）活化来制备纳米多孔碳（NPCs）。研究了活化剂比例、微波功率和活化时间等相关工艺变量对油棕雄花衍生的纳米多孔碳（PMFCs）的比孔特性、表面形态和表面化学性质的影响，以探索最佳制备条件。在微波辐射功率700 W、活化保温时间6 min和活化剂比例2:1的最佳条件下，获得了具有最高比表面积和总孔体积的PMFC，分别约为991 m²/g和0.49 cm³/g，碳含量为74.56%。同时，PMFCs具有约71.12%的高度微孔结构。此外，活化剂比例和微波辐射功率对PMFCs的表面特性有显著影响。本研究揭示了在短操作时间条件下，通过微波辅助KOH活化利用油棕雄花生产NPCs的潜力。
