Surface chemistry and adsorption mechanism of cadmium ion on activated carbon derived from Garcinia mangostana shell

A detailed surface characterizations and adsorption mechanism of Cd2+ on chemical activated carbon (CAC) prepared from Garnicia mangostana shell were investigated. The activation is accomplished in self-generating atmosphere using phosphoric acid as activating agent. The characterizations performed are elemental analysis, functional group identification, N-2 adsorption isotherm and surface charges. Adsorption mechanism of metal ion was tested using Cd2+ as model ion. CAC achieved BET surface area of 1,498 m(2)/g with a mixture of micro and mesopores. The point of zero charge is observed to be at pH 2.8 and the optimum pH for Cd2+ adsorption on CAC is 12. The adsorption isotherm followed the Freundlich model, and the adsorption kinetics was explained by pseudo-second order kinetic model. From thermodynamic studies, the adsorption was found to be physical adsorption. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the adsorption of Cd2+ onto CAC as +2 oxidation state.