Preparation and characterization of activated carbon aerogel spheres

Activated carbon aerogel spheres (A-CAS) were successfully prepared by imposing KOH activation on aerogel spheres. It was found that the activation treatment did not destroy the order of the surface of the carbon aerogel spheres (CAS), but it improved the pore structure and adsorption performance of the products. With increasing burn-off, the amount of mesopores first decreased and then increased, with the amount of micropores continuously increasing. The highest measured BET surface area and micropore surface area reached 1198 and 786 m(2)/g, respectively. The adsorption capacity of benzene organic vapour on the A-CAS is more than eight times as large as that on CAS.