Abstract

The production of a series of mesoporous, nitrogen-containing (N-containing) carbon materials directly from pure chitin by means of carbonization at different temperatures under template-free conditions is reported. Thermogravimetric analysis combined with infrared spectroscopy was applied to follow the temperature-dependent chemical events during the carbonization process, thereby shedding light on the automated pore formation mechanism. The physicochemical properties of the N-containing carbon materials have been extensively investigated, which provided guidance and rational understanding of the application of these materials. It was found that the N-containing carbon materials obtained at lower temperatures (400–600 °C) were enriched with amine, amide, and pyrrolic functionalities, which enables their very high efficiency as adsorbents to remove toxic heavy metals, such as CrVI, HgII, and PdII, from water. In contrast, N-containing carbon materials prepared at higher temperatures (800–1000 °C) were enriched with graphitic N, which exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the epoxidation of styrene.