Ultrahigh-Capacity Adsorption of Cationic Dyes with Rapid Kinetics Using Used Cigarette Filters-Based Carbons Activated by KHCO3
- 1Lyuliang University , , Lishi, ,
Abstract
The development of adsorbents that simultaneously achieve high adsorption capacity and rapid kinetics is critical for treating organic dyes, particularly at high concentrations. Herein, novel used cigarette filter (UCF)-based carbons were synthesized via one-step pyrolysis employing an eco-friendly activator KHCO3. The resulting CPCHK-800 carbon material possesses a high specific surface area of 1533 m2/g and a high volume of 0.716 cm3/g. Benefiting from a three-dimensional (3D) honeycomb architecture of graphene-like nanosheets and abundant oxygen groups (19.98 wt %), CPCHK-800 exhibited high adsorption capacities for MB (1328.7 mg/g), RhB (3129.5 mg/g), and MG (3425.9 mg/g) at an adsorbent dosage of 0.2 g/L. Notably, near-complete removal of MB was achieved within 10 min at 100 mg/L, and an adsorption capacity of 1023.9 mg/g was reached within 5 min at 400 mg/L and 0.2 g/L dosage. Such rapid kinetics highlight its potential for treating high-concentration dye wastewater. The Langmuir model best describes the isotherms (R2 = 0.982, qmax = 1657.4 mg/g) with favorable RL values (0.0049–0.0312). The adsorption process is spontaneous and endothermic. Mechanistic studies reveal that MB adsorption involves synergistic contributions from pore filling, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, π-π, and n-π interactions. Furthermore, CPCHK-800 maintains 92.2% of its initial adsorption capacity after five cycles, decreasing from 1089.3 to 1004.7 mg/g, and maintains 87.3% of its salt-free performance at 0.5 mol/L NaCl, highlighting its excellent reusability and anti-interference capability. These quantitative results confirm that CPCHK-800 is a promising, cost-effective, and environmentally safe adsorbent for practical high-concentration cationic dye wastewater treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{huo2026ultrahighcapacity,
title = {{Ultrahigh-Capacity Adsorption of Cationic Dyes with Rapid Kinetics Using Used Cigarette Filters-Based Carbons Activated by KHCO3}},
author = {Xiaodong Huo and Jianjun Wang and Zhonghui Wang},
journal = {ACS Omega},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c08713},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c08713/5454140/Ultrahigh-Capacity-Adsorption-of-Cationic-Dyes},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Ultrahigh-Capacity Adsorption of Cationic Dyes with Rapid Kinetics Using Used Cigarette Filters-Based Carbons Activated by KHCO3
AU - Xiaodong Huo
AU - Jianjun Wang
AU - Zhonghui Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - ACS Omega
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.6c08713
UR - https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c08713/5454140/Ultrahigh-Capacity-Adsorption-of-Cationic-Dyes
AB - The development of adsorbents that simultaneously achieve high adsorption capacity and rapid kinetics is critical for treating organic dyes, particularly at high concentrations. Herein, novel used cigarette filter (UCF)-based carbons were synthesized via one-step pyrolysis employing an eco-friendly activator KHCO3. The resulting CPCHK-800 carbon material possesses a high specific surface area of 1533 m2/g and a high volume of 0.716 cm3/g. Benefiting from a three-dimensional (3D) honeycomb architecture of graphene-like nanosheets and abundant oxygen groups (19.98 wt %), CPCHK-800 exhibited high adsorption capacities for MB (1328.7 mg/g), RhB (3129.5 mg/g), and MG (3425.9 mg/g) at an adsorbent dosage of 0.2 g/L. Notably, near-complete removal of MB was achieved within 10 min at 100 mg/L, and an adsorption capacity of 1023.9 mg/g was reached within 5 min at 400 mg/L and 0.2 g/L dosage. Such rapid kinetics highlight its potential for treating high-concentration dye wastewater. The Langmuir model best describes the isotherms (R2 = 0.982, qmax = 1657.4 mg/g) with favorable RL values (0.0049–0.0312). The adsorption process is spontaneous and endothermic. Mechanistic studies reveal that MB adsorption involves synergistic contributions from pore filling, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, π-π, and n-π interactions. Furthermore, CPCHK-800 maintains 92.2% of its initial adsorption capacity after five cycles, decreasing from 1089.3 to 1004.7 mg/g, and maintains 87.3% of its salt-free performance at 0.5 mol/L NaCl, highlighting its excellent reusability and anti-interference capability. These quantitative results confirm that CPCHK-800 is a promising, cost-effective, and environmentally safe adsorbent for practical high-concentration cationic dye wastewater treatment.
SN - 2470-1343
ER -