Heteroatom-doped porous carbons with enhanced carbon dioxide uptake and excellent methylene blue adsorption capacities

Heteroatom nitrogen and oxygen-doped porous carbon materials were for the first time generated via a one-pot carbonization of metal-organic framework under argon saturated water steam at an elevated temperature. The water steam carbonization of metal-organic frameworks is a novel approach to generate carbon materials with large pore volumes, high surface areas, abundant nitrogen content and enhanced oxygen-containing functional groups. The resulting porous carbon materials exhibited excellent performance in both the carbon dioxide uptake and methylene blue removal from wastewater. A carbon dioxide uptake capacity of 4.00 mmol g⁻¹ at room temperature and a methylene blue adsorption capacity of 98.5% can be achieved. This report offers an alternative strategy to develop metal-organic-frameworks-derived porous carbon materials with new functionalities to meet the specific needs in various adsorption applications.