Study on effect of chemical impregnation on the surface and porous characteristics of activated carbon fabric prepared from viscose rayon

In this study, synthetic viscose rayon fabric has been used for preparing activated carbon fabric (ACF), impregnated with different concentrations of $H_3PO_4$. The effect of $H_3PO_4$ impregnation on the weight yield, surface area, pore volume, chemical composition and morphology of ACF were studied. Experimental results revealed that both Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and micropore volume increased with increasing $H_3PO_4$ concentration; however, the weight yield and microporosity (%) decreased. It was observed that samples impregnated at $70^\circC$ (AC-70) give higher yield and higher microporosity as compared to $30^\circC$ (AC-30). The average pore size of the ACF also gradually increases from 18.2 to 19 and 16.7 to $20.4{\AA}$ for $30^\circC$ and $70^\circC$, respectively. The pore size distribution of ACF was also studied. It is also concluded that the final ACF strength is dependent on the concentration of impregnant.