Capture and reversible storage of volatile iodine by porous carbon with high capacity

The capture of iodine using porous materials has attracted considerable interest. In this work, porous carbon with a special surface area of 1973 m(2) g(-1) was prepared by simple activation method. As an adsorbent, the adsorption capacity of the resulting porous carbon could reach up to 376 wt% for iodine vapor and 460 mg g(-1) for iodine uptake in cyclohexane, which both are among the highest values reported up to now. Taking advantages of its high special surface area, easy preparation, low cost, as well as good regeneration, the resulting porous carbon shows great potential in the removal of radioactive iodine at different states.