Abstract

A novel P‑doped mesoporous carbon (PMC) was prepared from sucrose, a natural source, using a hard template based on silica nanoparticles. The new PMC was characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, N₂ physisorption, Raman, XPS, and FT-IR.

The analysis confirmed the tridimensional structure of PMC, which showed a high surface area of 830 m².g⁻¹ and a pore volume of 1.4 cm³.g⁻¹. XPS analysis determined the phosphorus content of 4.1 %, mainly due to the functional groups of C₃-PO and C−P(O)(OH)₂/C₂ −P(O)(OH). The new material was used to remove the drug propranolol (PRO) from water. PMC could remove PRO in 10 min, achieving a high removal capacity of 287 mg.g⁻¹, corresponding to 99 % of removal efficiency.

The kinetic and equilibrium data were best described by pseudo-second order kinetic and BET isothermal models, suggesting multilayer adsorption where the first layer of PRO molecules strongly binds to the PMC surface, and subsequent layers are formed over the first one. The proposed mechanism of PRO adsorption is based on the chemisorption in C−P(O)(OH)₂/C₂ −P(O)(OH) acidic groups of PMC, physisorption through hydrogen-bonding, electrostatic and π − π interactions. PMC has proven to be a promising adsorbent for the uptake of propranolol from water.